


Saudade

by Stray_Anpanman



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternative Universe - Shadowhunters, Angels, Angst, Demons, Eventual Romance, Fae & Fairies, Fantasy, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Lovers to enemies to lovers, M/M, Magic, Shadowhunters - Freeform, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing, Vampires, Violence, Warlocks, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 11:43:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 51
Words: 330,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20209171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stray_Anpanman/pseuds/Stray_Anpanman
Summary: Seungmin can only recollect the last ten years of his life, unable to remember anything before the 'incident.' However, after a chance encounter drags him into a world he didn't know existed, he might just find the past that he's been searching for.





	1. Serendipity

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, one and all, to my new fic 'Saudade.' As it says in the tags, this is a Shadowhunters fic. You don't need to have read the books or seen the show to read this; everything will be explained along the way.  
However, I need to make something abundantly clear before we start. Even though this is a Shadowhunters fic, I will not be strictly adhering to every detail in the original series. It will be set in the Shadowhunter world with references to many terms and the overall plot but because I want to write freely and put my own spin on things, there will be a lot of discrepancies too. So, if you come across something in the fic and you think 'that's not what happens in the world of the book', don't worry, I know. I've read the books and seen the tv series. For instance, in the original series, warlocks are immortal but will not be in this fic. Some runes don't exist in this fic that are canon and new ones will be added. Just little details like that. So, you know, just go with the flow.  
Anyways, thank you for clicking on this story, I hope you enjoy the first chapter and if you decide to keep reading, the rest of the fic as well. I'll do my best to update regularly depending on how much I get written each week. Enough explaining. On we go!

There was always something so wistful about the streets of Seoul after the first snow. The tops of buildings becoming obscured by the white flakes, the barren trees bending slightly due to the intense wind, the desolate walkways without anyone to leave their footprints in the remnants of the slush that was already beginning to melt. Of course, all of that was supposed to be inconsequential when the brightness of the festivities at this time of year were burning so brightly. Christmas was a time of merriment, one that brought people closer together and made everyone realise that there was some good inside of each and every one of them. It was a time to spend with family and friends but for those without anyone to love or anyone to love them, it was possibly the most devastatingly lonely time of year. 

Steadying himself after almost toppling head first onto the ground, Seungmin grasped the railings to his left, planting his feet firmly on the path and looking around to make sure nobody had witnessed his embarrassing flailing of arms and rather graceless squeal. He was lucky that it was so late in the night and he was the only one currently traversing the path towards his home after finishing a rather exhausting day at work. He had been left to close up by himself. Again. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence but it just took him a lot longer to finish all the tasks compared to when someone stayed to help him. 

Most of the time, he didn’t really mind his job all that much. The small clothing store was relatively busy and working there had its ups and downs. He got to meet lots of interesting people but that meant he also got to meet those poor souls without a brain in their head that would yell at him about the prices of some items, like he had any power to change something like that. During the holidays, it just became ten times worse since there was an exponential increase in the amount of customers, ranging from young men and women trying to look spiffy for their family dinner on the special day, to parents looking for the perfect gift for their precious little darlings. Seungmin had also dealt with a woman who he was sure was well into her eighties today, trying to purchase a crop top for herself but he wasn’t going to question what was going on there. As long as she wasn’t hurting anyone, she was free to dress however the hell she liked. Plus, she was nice and called him a ‘sweet boy’ while pinching his cheek and thanking him for his help. 

“Excuse me, would you like to support our good cause? We’re trying to raise money to help people who are all alone this time of year.”

Seungmin removed his earphones so that he didn’t look like a complete asshole while the small girl holding a bucket decorated with tinsel in her hand smiled brightly at him. He noticed a group of carolers singing ‘Jingle Bells’ behind her, practically exuding Christmas spirit. He didn’t want to be mean, that’s not who he was but he really did hate everything about this stupid holiday and everything this time of year represented for him. 

“Sorry, kid. I don’t have enough money to support myself, let alone anyone else.” 

The girl gave him a slightly confused look, one that showed she was still too innocent and pure to know about the harsh realities of the world. Where, if you showed any sign of weakness, it would chew you up and spit you out without remorse. 

“Besides, I’m one of the people that you’re trying to help. I don’t have anyone either,” Seungmin whispered as he walked away but it seemed as if the girl still heard him when he noticed her running back to the group of singers and asking one of the older ladies what he had meant by that. Seungmin didn’t get to hear her reply since he slipped his earphones back in and continued his journey down the street lit up with glistening, red and green fairy lights. 

Digging around in his pockets to find his keys, he felt his teeth chatter together from the bitter cold and cursed when his fingers had become so numb that it took him a good two minutes before he managed to guide his key into the lock to allow himself inside. Not that it got any better when he entered since the heat had been out for the entire building since last week. He wondered how that had happened but then again, living in this hellhole, he was more surprised that anything was actually in working order. He had called the landlord about the problem but was told to just ‘deal with it.’ He tried to make the point that, by calling him, he _ was _ trying to deal with it since it was the landlord’s job to fix something like this but he was met with muttered curses and the sound of the phone being slammed down on the other end. 

As he kicked off his shoes and placed the fluffy, lilac slippers on his feet, he shuffled across the floor, past his bedroom where he would soon just flop down onto his creaky, stained mattress and sleep the night away before his next shift started. It was the same thing, day in and day out and Seungmin assumed that not everyone had a life as mundane as his one. Did anyone actually come to find some greater meaning because, in Seungmin’s case, he didn’t really have a reason to keep on living anymore, nobody to live for either, not even himself.

At twenty-two years old, he never thought that this is where he would be. He wasn’t saying that the rest of his life so far had been exhilarating and filled to the brim with jewels and gold but he still thought he might have had the chance of something worthwhile happening to him. That’s what the storybooks always told him as a kid, that he would find his adventure along the way, one that took him on a journey to find out who he truly was but nothing of the sort had happened to him yet and he was more than sure that, now, it never would because, more than anything, he wasn’t a stupid little kid that believed in fairytales and horror stories anymore. He accepted the reality of his situation and conceded that this was his life, even if he could only remember about half of it up to this point. 

It was a strange feeling to be sure, not being able to recollect anything before the age of twelve but there was nothing he could do about it now. He would just have to deal with it since the doctors always told him that the retrograde amnesia that he had suffered after the accident could very well be permanent. The loss of his memories didn’t bother him in a sense but the loss of any probability of someone that actually cared about him did. That fateful Christmas Eve that changed who he was forever. 

An explosion in the center of the city, one that killed exactly four hundred and seventy nine people and injured countless others. They still don’t know what caused it, where it had stemmed from. It was brought down to the possibility of a gas leak and an open flame but most people knew that this was just the government's way of tying up all the loose ends to complete the investigation. Seungmin had been in the middle of it all, getting caught up in the madness and had apparently been close to the source, made obvious by the severe head injury that he was presented with when he was rushed to the emergency room. Blood everywhere, no recollection of who he was other than his first name and age, a hazy whisper of _ ‘stay right here, sweetheart, we’ll be right back.’ _By some miracle, he had managed to survive. Though, in the end, he wasn’t entirely sure that it was a good thing.

He hadn’t been in any database, no fingerprints, no DNA matches, no social security number, no facial recognition. It was impossible, that’s what the police had said to each other, that a child of twelve didn’t have an identity. He was a ghost of the system and in the beginning, that terrified Seungmin. There must have been someone who knew who he was, someone who cared about him. After all, the nurses that had looked after him during his lengthy hospital stay had all gossiped that he had been dressed in designer clothes, even if they had been burned from the explosion. Remnants of money had been found in his pocket too. He hadn’t been some homeless child roaming around the streets without a family. He was someone’s little boy but nobody ever came forward for him. He always questioned why. 

Turning on the kettle before walking back into the living room, Seungmin stared at his hand, the garish black lines that had stained his otherwise unmarked skin glaring back at him. The mark was ugly, something he wished he could magically wash away but it was staying there, whether he liked it or not. It was the first thing that had worried the doctors that examined him after the explosion, the highly unusual mark found on the young, red headed boy. A black tattoo in the form of a strangely drawn eye was situated on the back of his hand. They had never seen anything like it before, wondering why a child would have something like that, something that looked like it had been there for some time since there was no bruising or discoloration around it. It didn’t look like it had been administered by a regular needle either but they couldn’t come to an agreement about how it was applied or why. They were worried it had something to do with gang related activities but the symbol didn’t belong to any known group in the area. 

The second was the fact that his blood held something unusual, a shimmering gold tint that none of them had ever encountered. There were no diseases that could cause it, none that were in the books anyways but it didn’t seem to be harming him but rather, quite the opposite. They decided not to question it or anything else about the boy when they began to notice his wounds healing at a much quicker rate than they should have been. There was something strange about him but they had no idea what it was. In the end, they just wanted to get him out of their hair as fast as possible, which is exactly what they did. Seungmin was taken by child services, placed in the custody of the state and brought to a home where children just like himself were cared for. 

And he _ was _ cared for. People treated him kindly in the beginning, even if he was not of the same mindset sometimes. In the children’s home, he had a pretty standard room but one that was comfortable which he shared with two other boys. Since he kept his head down and did his work, his teachers liked having him in their class. He always did rather excellently in his studies too. However, he couldn’t find it within himself to make friends. When other kids tried to approach him with their queries, he wanted to keep them at a distance since he knew he wouldn’t be able to answer their questions.

“Where did you grow up?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” 

“I don’t know.”

“What happened to your parents?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well then, what kind of things do you like to do for fun?”

“None of your business.”

“Why won’t you tell us anything about yourself?” 

_ “Because I’m afraid if I get close to people, they’ll end up leaving me all alone like whoever I was with before did and I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep myself from breaking if that happens again.” _

However, once Seungmin started mentioning the monsters that he could see, everyone started to avoid him like the plague. He couldn’t understand it, why it was that nobody else could see the ghastly creatures that roamed amongst them. Beasts of different shapes and sizes, some that oozed danger walking around right in front of them but nobody paid them any attention. There were demons, monsters that bodies were so disfigured and frightening that it made Seungmin’s stomach clench painfully whenever he saw them but then he stared noticing other creatures too. People that walked around with fluffy ears atop their heads and bushy tails falling from their backs. Blood red eyes and pointed fangs being present on people he only saw during the night time. Stunningly gorgeous humans with wings sprouting from their backs. He stared and pointed at them in the beginning, trying to get absolutely anyone to see the monsters that had invaded. However, Seungmin quickly stopped talking about it when he realised that normal people couldn’t see the beasts. He pretended that he couldn’t see them too and that seemed to work to an extent but that’s what the young Seungmin had surmised: that nobody else could see them and that, more importantly, he wasn’t normal. 

For the most part, the monsters didn’t seem to catch on that he was aware of their presence and Seungmin was going to keep up that facade. He was going to try and maintain a sane demeanor, even if he continuously worried that he was going crazy. 

That’s the way Seungmin carried on for the next ten years of his life. He had to find an entirely new identity, building himself up from the ground and he would have liked to tell people that it’s an extremely difficult and tiring thing to do. It was a regret that he carried with him, not having the courage to make friends as a child and pushing people away because, being all alone in his tiny apartment on Christmas Eve, was more than a little depressing. 

He imagined all of those families getting ready for the big day tomorrow and how they would spend some quality time together. The beautifully decorated Christmas tree that sat beside a roaring, crackling fire would illuminate the entirety of the living room and make everyone’s heart feel warmer simply by taking in the sight. Meanwhile, Seungmin didn’t have one decoration around his home but that’s the way it had been every year since he left the system and started living on his own. He had nobody to blame for the bleak state of his home other than himself. 

Making his way across the room, he cracked open the window that led to the fire escape and began to whistle lowly to see if he could catch the attention of his little, midnight visitor that would usually be waiting for him to come home. 

“Bomi? Come here, girl.” 

As his voice barely rose above a whisper, he thought that maybe she wouldn’t be able to hear it but he didn’t want to raise it louder and get complaints from his rather brutish neighbours who had once threatened to ‘beat him within an inch of his life’ because he sneezed too loudly in the middle of the night. However, it didn’t seem to matter to the dainty feline who hopped down the stairs to meet Seungmin. The golden cat with verdant, green eyes jumped up onto the windowsill and cried out loudly, letting the young man know that she would like to be fed quite promptly. She didn’t even belong to him. As far as he knew, she was a stray that liked to hang around the area and apparently decided to stay when Seungmin began to feed her. 

“Shh, ok, girl, ok. You’re hungry, I get it, I am too.” 

Bomi already knew where to go as she bounced into the small kitchen which, Seungmin knew, really needed to be cleaned, made obvious by the stack of plates he just didn’t have the energy to do right now. Cracking open a cheap tin of cat food, he emptied it into the feline’s bowl before he took out one for himself and filled it with cereal. Not the best choice for his second meal of the day but he couldn’t find it within himself to cook right now. 

As he opened the door to find milk, which he noticed was now past its ‘use by’ date, Seungmin groaned loudly but whipped around when he heard Bomi hiss with such venom. She wasn’t a hostile cat in any sense, simply running away if someone yelled at her or she got spooked by a loud noise but, at the moment, she looked almost feral. 

“Hey, what’s the matter with you?” Seungmin asked with concern as he approached her but noticed that the cat’s attention wasn’t trained on him but rather on the opposite corner of the room. 

Whatever it was, it was scaring her greatly since her ears were folded back onto her head and her hairs were literally standing on end. Glancing at the shadowed corner, Seungmin carefully made his way over to it, tiptoeing for some reason even though he was sure that nothing was there. 

“Hello? Is someone there?” Picking up a kitchen knife from the counter to defend himself against an invisible threat, Seungmin drew closer to the source that Bomi was still hissing at. She suddenly stopped, bolting from the room and out the window she had entered through earlier without even touching her food. 

Seungmin jumped at the noise beneath his feet as the floorboard creaked but that wasn’t an unusual occurrence in his apartment. It wasn’t much but it was just enough to make his attention drop for a second. The biggest mistake that Seungmin could have ever made. Maybe he should have still believed in horror stories because, apparently, he was in one. 

He was on his back in an instant, disorientated and terrified as he took in the thing that had knocked him down. He could only describe what he saw as a monster, now looming over him, fangs dripping with a green substance that began to burn Seungmin’s clothes as soon as it touched them. Seungmin had come into contact with monsters before but nothing looked like this. He was petrified, unable to move even if his body wasn't paralysed by fear since the beast’s claws were pinning him to the floor, the smell of rotting garbage falling from its mouth. It was disfigured, no proper form to its body and it just made the beast that much more terrifying.

_ “Shadowhunter,” _the monster hissed, seemingly not knowing any other vocabulary since it began to repeat the phrase over and over again, a more agitated tone weaving its way through its words. 

Seungmin had never heard the word before, he had no idea what the monster was trying to get at but it seemed his lack of response was something that angered the demon above him. Piercing his shoulder with its claws, Seungmin screamed out and began to thrash to try and free himself but to no avail since the beast was at least twice the size of him. He wondered if any of his neighbours would hear or if they would wait until the morning to complain to him about the unprecedented disturbance that he was causing. 

“Stop, stop, please! It hurts!” Seungmin didn’t even know why he was pleading. It seemed that the monster that was now set on causing him as much pain as possible didn’t have any cognitive ability other than the thought that it needed to kill the young man now growing weaker beneath it because of the blood gushing out of the wound in his arm. 

Willing himself to stay awake and not lose out to the pain emanating from his shoulder, Seungmin continuously fought, even if the monster was beginning to put more pressure onto his open wound that its claws had caused. Before he could think any further on the subject, Seungmin heard footsteps that sounded awfully close. Maybe one of his neighbours had finally had enough of his screaming and come to investigate the cause but they almost sounded like they were inside the apartment, not in the hallway. Not that he could really tell; he was pretty sure his mind was fucked up because of the pain and blood loss. 

Two gunshots. That was all he heard before an elongated scream from the monster above him rang throughout the room. It began to disintegrate, leaving an opaque substance in its wake that fell upon Seungmin’s clothing and gave off an even worse smell than its breath had moments ago. It was enough for Seungmin to roll onto his side and empty out the contents of his stomach onto his already filthy floor. Then again, the pain and fear were pretty substantial, adding to the list of reasons that he had just puked everything up, which wasn't a lot in hindsight. His mind was jumbled, barely able to make out what was happening around him before he felt a grip on his shoulder. Afraid that it might be another monster coming to end his life, Seungmin let out a small whimper, not able to do much else since his whole body was on fire and his limbs didn’t seem to be listening to him.

“Hey, you’re ok. I’ve got you. Fuck. Bin, we weren't quick enough, it poisoned him. Should we take him back to the Institute?” 

Seungmin smirked, his mind not making sense of anything other than thinking that Bin was a strange name. Maybe it was short for something or a nickname. He made the plausible point in his head that people might have called him Min too if he was actually close enough to someone to use nicknames but he wasn’t.

“Really, Sungie? You want to take a Mundane back to the Institute? Wooj would kill you!” 

“Changbin, he’s going to fucking die if we don’t do something! Why was a Nimh demon attacking a Mundane anyways? The data said that these new demons have only been targeting Shadowh-”

Seungmin was thankful that the bickering of whoever was in his home had stopped. He felt like shit and according to the voice of the person now holding him in his arms, he was poisoned. Not a great way to end his night really. Just another reason to hate this stupid day. He was teetering on the edge of consciousness but begging his sluggish mind to stay awake until he could figure out what the hell was happening. What was that monster? Why had it combusted into a million pieces? Who was in his home now? Why were they treating him so gently? 

He felt his right hand being taken by someone, the person twisting and turning it until it felt sore from the movement which caused Seungmin to allow tears to begin falling down his cheeks. It was interesting to him that, even though he had thought he had nothing to live for, after coming so close to being killed, he realised that he really didn’t want to die. Irony was an awfully funny thing. 

“Bin, this guy has a Voyance rune on his hand. He’s a Shadowhunter too.”

“What? No, that’s not possible. If he was an active Shadowhunter, he couldn’t be living in the city without us knowing about him.”

Seungmin wanted to open his eyes and tell the two men in his kitchen that they were being way too loud, babbling about something that was complete gibberish to him but he figured that maybe it wasn’t their voices but his own ears that seemed to be amplifying every noise around him. 

“He only has that one rune? He would have gotten that as a kid, how does he not have any others if he’s a...no, there’s no way that it’s him.” 

“Who, Sungie?”

There was pure and obvious terror in the man’s voice that held him closer when he thought he recognised who he was. Jisung, that was what the the other man named Changbin had called him. His head began to feel even more muddled than it had been previously but he tried to stay conscious when he heard his name being called. 

“Seungmin? Is that you? Can you hear me? Oh god, please let it be you.” 

“Oh, for god’s sake, Jisung, not this again.” 

Why wouldn’t they shut up? Didn’t they know how much blood he was losing? If they weren’t going to help him, couldn’t they just put him out of his misery? His whole body was trembling and he wondered why neither of them noticed. Seungmin also wondered why the hell both of these strangers seemed to know his name. 

“But, Bin, you can’t deny that he looks like him. This guy is around the same age as he would be now too. Seungminnie only had one rune before he disappeared. It could be-”

“Jisung, he didn’t disappear. He died!”

Groaning as a form of response, Seungmin didn’t get to say anything else before pain like he had never felt erupted throughout his entire body, making him go rigid but allowing his cries of pure terror to spring from between his clenched teeth. 

“Shit! Bin, we need to get him back to the Institute, now! Fuck it if Wooj kills us. If this guy really is Seungmin, we’ve found him after all these years! Here, help me take him up.” 

Seungmin felt himself being lifted into an upright position before being cradled in someone’s arms, so gently and full of care. He wanted to stay awake, to know where he was going, what this ‘Institute’ was, who the people were that had saved him from the terrifying demon but with the pain now flowing throughout his entire body, he could do nothing but allow his consciousness to fade to black, a small prayer on his lips that he would wake up to see the morning sun once again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you've enjoyed.
> 
> In case anyone wants to scream at me or with me about anything:  
Tumblr: @stray-anpanman  
Twitter: @stray_anpanman


	2. Incipient

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 coming right up.

“Come on, Wooj.”

“Nope. I’m not ‘Wooj’ right now. I am the head of the Seoul Institute. How could you guys do this? Do you know how many rules you’ve broken?!” 

People honestly had no respect nowadays. Didn’t those around Seungmin that were yelling know that you’re supposed to keep your voice down when around a sleeping person? He kind of felt like he was in limbo at the moment, his mind conscious enough to take in what was happening around him but not awake enough to make sense of it. The smell of antiseptic was overwhelming and it was beginning to burn his throat but Seungmin could do nothing about it since his whole body wasn’t doing its goddamn job and listening to him when he wanted to move. Even his eyes were uncooperative when he tried to open them so he could finally figure out where he was and what the hell was after happening to him. 

“First of all, just for the record, the Law states that if a Mundane is in mortal danger because of a demon attack, we can bring them here.” 

Seungmin remembered that voice, one of the men who had been in his home earlier. That’s right, someone had broken into his apartment but he couldn’t recall why exactly they were there. Did they do something to him? He couldn’t think straight anymore. Jisung. He was pretty sure that was his name.

“Ah, so you can remember the Law when it suits you, Sungie? It also says that you should never reveal the details of our world to Mundanes unless it is completely unavoidable but from the report Changbin gave me, you both just talked about it so casually in front of a conscious one!”

That voice was one that Seungmin hadn’t heard before. It was stern but why wouldn’t it be when it sounded like the man was chewing Jisung out for doing something that was apparently against the rules, whatever that was. However, it held an undeniable softness at the same time, like there was no real hostility in his scolding, like he was speaking to a friend. 

“But he’s not a Mundane! You can see that just as much as I can! Or are your eyes failing you in your old age?”

“You’re on thin, fucking ice, Jisung! Do you speak to all of your superiors this way? I should beat your ass right now. You’re dismissed. I’ll stay here with him until he wakes up.” 

“Woojin, come on. Don’t use that tone with me. I only brought him here because I thought-”

“I don’t care what you thought, Jisung. Out. Now. Go and stay with Changbin. I’ll deal with the both of you later.” 

After a few small groans and the opening and closing of a door, the stillness of the room was welcomed by Seungmin. It allowed his head to clear a little and with that, he managed to slowly wake from his daze. He winced at the brightness of the room; it felt like a thousand knives were digging themselves into his eyes. The first thing Seungmin noticed was that he was definitely _ not _in his apartment anymore. The room was a decent size, nothing substantial but it managed to hold all of the medical equipment that he was currently hooked up to. That scared him a little bit since he didn’t think that he needed so many machines buzzing and whirring around him, keeping his vitals monitored. He felt completely fine except for maybe the dull ache in his head but when he eventually managed to recall why it was that Jisung and the other man had come to his apartment, he could hear the heart monitor beside him begin to beep at a slightly faster pace. 

A monster. A completely hideous and disfigured beast had attacked him in his own home. Seungmin had seen so many demons in the streets before, skulking around outside in his daily life but none of them had ever made their way into his home, much less attacked him. He shifted slightly, feeling his shoulder burst with pain, forcing him to go lax once again. The beast had sunk its claws into him and all Seungmin could think of was the horrific amount of blood that had coated his apartment floor. His blood. It had hurt so much; that demon had wanted him dead. Why? It kept calling him a Shadowhunter. He didn’t even know what that was. Why was this happening to him? Where was he? What mess had he been dragged into?

Hyperventilating was never the plan but his body was really doing its best to work against him today as his breaths became uncontrollable and the heart monitor beside him was now beeping frantically, indicating that he was having a full blown panic attack. 

“Hey, hey, shh. You’re alright. I’m going to need you to calm down for me. Deep breaths, yeah? You’re safe.”

It was an unfamiliar feeling, someone running their fingers through his hair. A strange but welcomed action that made Seungmin lean into the touch before grabbing onto the free hand of the stranger in front of him. He couldn’t help it, he just wanted someone to comfort him in his time of need; nobody had done that for him in such a long time. He needed someone, anyone, and the young man sitting on the edge of his bed was the unwilling soul that had been chosen for that job.

Pitch black hair and the most gentle eyes that Seungmin had ever seen, the person in front of him let a calming aura flow from his body. The oversized sweater that enveloped him made him look so soft and the way he continued to play with Seungmin’s hair as he fought through his panic attack only strengthened that image. Even though there was an obvious tenderness, there was also a strength that made Seungmin feel safe, like this person would never let anything happen to him and, if he was being honest, he wished he could bottle the feeling up and keep forever so that he could use it in his darkest times. 

Seungmin attempted to do as he was told, to try and regulate his breathing to a more familiar pace. The young man gently rubbed his knuckles, trying to tap out a rhythm that would guide Seungmin back to a normal state. It took a few moments but his breaths eventually began to flow peacefully, a sign that his panic attack was coming to a close. 

“There we go. Just like that. You’re doing really well.” 

This guy, whoever he was, certainly had a knack for making others feel at ease. Seungmin let his head fall back against the fluffy pillow, trying to shake the thoughts of the attack from his mind. He kept his eyes fixated on the raven haired man in front of him, afraid that if he looked away for a second, he would disappear and leave him all by himself and Seungmin most certainly didn’t want that. 

He had finally calmed down but as the other man brought the hand that he had been running through Seungmin’s hair back to his side, Seungmin noticed something that made his heart jump into his mouth. A more than familiar mark on the back of his hand, one that he had become acquainted with on a very intimate level. A distorted black eye, the exact same one that Seungmin had was located on the back of the young man’s hand. It was identical, no line out of place. As his eyes moved away from the mark and back up to meet the confused stare of the other, Seungmin noticed more marks around his body, black lines peeking up from the collar of his sweater but they were mostly hidden and he couldn’t make out what shapes they were. There was somebody just like him, someone with the exact same mark. 

Noticing Seungmin’s breathing beginning to pick up again, the man froze and pulled his sleeves down so that it covered the eye on the back of his hand, a small curse falling from his mouth as he quietly berated himself. 

“Have you calmed down a bit? Yeah? Ok, then. How about we chat for a while?” 

Initially, Seungmin almost felt like he wasn’t being given a choice but the way that the young man waited for a response with such a kind smile made Seungmin realise that he wasn’t going to force him if he didn’t want to. Luckily though, Seungmin _ did _want to talk because there were about a thousand questions running around in his head and he had the strangest feeling that this man would be able to answer at least a few of them. With a small nod, he let the other know that he would speak. 

“Perfect. First of all, let’s get introductions out of the way. My name is Kim Woojin, what’s yours?” 

Woojin. The first thing that Seungmin thought was that the name suited the young man perfectly. The second was that he should hurry up and give his own name because the expectations that made Woojin’s eyes shimmer were screaming at him to do so. 

“Seungmin. My name is Seungmin.”

Even if he did his best to try to hide it, the tiny gasp that left Woojin’s mouth was immediately noticed by Seungmin. Apparently, that had meant something to him, though Seungmin wondered why knowing his name made such a difference when he was certain he had never met the other before. 

“And your last name?” 

“Uh, Park.”

That seemed to disappoint Woojin on a catastrophic level. A completely different reaction to when he had heard Seungmin’s first name. His eyes immediately fell to his clasped hands resting on his lap and it looked like Seungmin had just told him that all of his dreams would never come true. It was strange, like he had expected Seungmin to say something else. 

However, it hit Seungmin rather suddenly that it hadn’t always been his surname though and for some reason, he felt like he needed to clarify that he hadn’t always been called ‘Park Seungmin.’ Really, he just wanted Woojin to smile again, even if he wasn’t quite sure how to accomplish that. 

“But I don’t really know if that’s my name.” 

Woojin glanced up with a tint of hope in his eyes but the pout that had formed moments ago still remained. 

“You don’t know? What does that mean?”

“Well, it was the name given to me by the state. I was in an accident when I was little and I kinda lost all of my memories of who I was beforehand. For some reason, I remembered my first name but not my last. I know I’m Seungmin but I don’t know what my surname is. Nobody came forward as my family so, they kinda just picked out a popular surname to give me to write on legal documents and shit.”

Seungmin began to wonder why the hell he was divulging his depressing past to a complete stranger. Woojin didn’t need to know about this, nobody did; it wasn’t anybody's business but his own. Yet, it made the other man stand to attention once again and Seungmin was glad to see that he didn’t look so depressed anymore. 

“Um, stop me if I’m being too nosy but can I ask what happened to you?” 

There it was again, the unbearable need to spill each and every one of his secrets to Woojin and Seungmin couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. Shouldn’t he have been the one asking all the questions? _ He _ was the one who didn’t know where he was, who these people were or what had happened to him. Maybe Seungmin let Woojin take the lead because he felt like he could trust him. Maybe it was because he wanted to become closer to the young man in a strange way. Or, maybe, it was because of the ineffable sense of familiarity that he felt when he sat and spoke with Woojin. 

“I don’t mind. Remember about ten years ago, that giant explosion that occurred on Christmas Eve in the city centre? Yeah, I was in the middle of it. I was injured pretty badly, the worst of it being a pretty severe head injury. I was in the hospital for a couple of months, had to go through a few surgeries too. Not a fun time overall.” 

He hadn’t talked about it in such a long time that it felt sort of good to get it all off of his chest, even though it was to a stranger. He had never even been this forthcoming with his thoughts on the subject with the therapist he had been assigned as a child but then again, it felt like he was talking to a friend rather than the doctor who just wanted to move onto the next patient as quickly as possible since Seungmin was so closed off. 

“You were in the middle of it? And you lost all of your memories? Then you could be…” 

Woojin trailed off but Seungmin desperately wanted to know what he was about to say. However, it didn’t seem like he was going to continue with his line of thought. 

“Is it ok if I ask you a few questions now?”

Being pulled out of his daze, Woojin seemed hesitant but agreed eventually when he seemed to come to the conclusion that it was only fair since he had been interrogating the young man. 

“Where do I start? Um, so, who are you?” 

“Didn’t we cover this? Did you forget already?” While Woojin had started with a teasing smile on his face, he immediately dropped it when he realised he may have just put his foot in his mouth. “Oh, no, I shouldn’t joke about something like that. Do you still have trouble with your memories?” 

Now it was Seungmin’s turn to chuckle a little at how horrified Woojin looked at his own lack of tact. Even though he couldn’t remember anything before the accident, he had no trouble with his memories since then. 

“No, I can remember everything after the incident. I didn’t mean it in that sense. Should I rephrase it into ‘what are you?’ Like, why did you guys save me? Where are we? What exactly is it that you do?” 

Seungmin returned his gaze to the mark on the back of Woojin’s hand after his sleeves had moved back up and revealed it once again. The noises that surrounded him, the beeping of the machines, the bare muttering of voices outside of his room, all of it was drowned out as Seungmin waited for his reply with bated breath. 

“I’m sorry, Seungmin. I can’t tell you any of that just yet. Just wait a little bit and if I can, I will explain everything to you. For now, just stay here and rest. I’ll get someone to bring you something to eat.” 

Well, that didn’t seem very fair. Seungmin had answered all of Woojin’s questions without any hesitancy but the other wouldn’t answer even one of his. He just wanted Seungmin to sit here and stew in his curiosity. 

Woojin began to stand and head towards the door before Seungmin shot up and grabbed his hand. He didn’t want to be alone in a foreign place like this. Plus, he had never been very fond of hospitals since he had to spend so much time there as a kid.

“Please don’t leave.”

Woojin softened even further and put his free hand on top of their joined ones. He realised that, even though Seungmin was maintaining his composure exceedingly well, it was probably just the adrenaline of the situation keeping him from panicking. Had their positions been switched, Woojin was sure he would be freaking the hell out after being involved in something like this. 

“Seungmin, I have to go and take care of a few things. Your arrival has caused quite a stir but you don’t need to worry about it. If you need anything, there’s someone just outside your door. His name is Yugyeom. Just press this button here and he’ll take care of you. I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

Woojin carefully ruffled his hair once again before Seungmin nodded to let Woojin know that he would sit tight for the time being. He watched Woojin walk out the door and out of sight, something that made his heart squeeze painfully. Once he was alone, Seungmin realised that he hadn’t asked Woojin about the monster that attacked him, how he had been cured after supposedly being poisoned, what the mark on the back of both of their hands signified. It didn’t matter too much now, Woojin said that he would return soon and Seungmin thought that he would use the time until then to sleep just a little bit more. He didn’t realise how truly exhausted he was until he was by himself again. For now, he would just settle back into the bed and ponder over the possible answers to his questions still lingering inside his head.

* * *

Leaning back against the door he had just walked out of, Woojin exhaled shakily, not quite believing what he had just experienced. He dug into his pocket, bringing out the small vial of red liquid that he had extracted from Seungmin’s arm just before he woke up. 

“Everything alright, boss?”

Woojin pocketed the blood again, smiling tiredly up at Yugyeom before nodding a little. 

“Yeah, I guess. Just a little worn out. Look out for him. I’ll be back as soon as possible. Call someone to get some food and don’t let anyone in or out of that room, ok?” 

Getting confirmation that Yugyeom would look after him in the form of two thumbs up, Woojin thanked him and took off down the long corridor to head towards the lab. He never imagined that something like this could ever occur but he wouldn’t jump to conclusions just yet. Woojin couldn’t afford to do something like that, not when there were so many eyes on him at the moment. 

As he rounded the corner, he noticed a figure hunched on the ground, obviously waiting for him to make his way to the lab to test out their theory. Changbin immediately jumped up, an apologetic look scrunching up his features and Woojin wondered why he was waiting here without Jisung since he had told the younger man to find him after their squabble. It wasn’t all that shocking really. Jisung had a terrible habit of not listening to his superior’s orders; that was the main reason that he was always in some sort of trouble. 

“Am I allowed to call you Wooj again or…?” 

Snickering slightly at the downcast expression on the other man’s face, Woojin pulled him into his side as he continued to walk towards the room at the end of the hallway. 

“Yeah, Binnie. Sorry, my asshole persona comes out when I’m stressed.”

“_ Really? _Gosh, that was something that I had never noticed before. Truly a new revelation for me.” 

A small smack to the back of his head made Changbin mutter small apologies for his sarcastic comment before slinging his arm over Woojin’s shoulder. 

“Well, where is the demonic troublemaker?” inquired Woojin.

“I’m gonna take a swing here and say that you’re referring to Sungie. I don’t know, I haven’t seen him since we got back. Why?” 

Woojin groaned in frustration, rolling his eyes at the absence of their youngest friend. He wasn’t too worried; he already had a fair idea about where he had gone. 

“I told him to go and find you. Apparently, he decided not to heed my order.”

“Jisung? Not listening to _ you _? That doesn’t sound like him.” Changbin was really on a roll tonight with his sarcasm but Woojin was too exhausted to reprimand him a second time. “Speaking of Sungie, what do you think?” 

Contemplating his answer for a moment, Woojin scratched his head with a huff. Changbin was one of his best friends and he knew that he could trust him with absolutely anything but he wondered if he wanted to divulge information that he was uncertain about just yet. In the end though, all he wanted was to share his jumbled thoughts on the subject with someone as close to this unforeseen dilemma as he was. 

“I think he may have been into something.” 

“Seriously? You actually think it’s him?”

Woojin shrugged slightly as he opened the door to the lab and let Changbin inside first. Thankfully, since it was still a couple of hours before the sun came up, nobody was using the facility which gave Changbin and Woojin the privacy they required to do what they needed to do. 

“He said his name was Seungmin, that he was involved in the explosion downtown ten years ago, that, because of that incident, he lost all of his memories prior. Maybe he’s lying about all of this. I don’t know if he is or not, Changbin but…” 

“But you desperately want it to be him, just like me and Sungie.”

Nodding with another heavy sigh, Woojin took the vial out of his pocket once again and held it up to the light. It was definitely Shadowhunter blood, there was no doubt about that and the Voyance rune that was on the back of the man’s hand who they had left back in the infirmary only strengthened that point. No Mundane would survive the ritual where runes were bestowed upon them and no other group in the world placed runes on their skin. They belonged to Shadowhunters and Shadowhunters alone, so that’s what Seungmin had to be but the idea that there was an active Shadowhunter living in Seoul without his knowledge or the knowledge of the Clave was unheard of. There was something going on beneath the surface and Woojin was determined to find out what it was. 

“Don’t tell Sungie that he may have been right until we’re certain.”

Changbin let go a noise of confirmation, knowing that Jisung was the most emotional out of all of them, especially with regards to something like this and would break if they built up his hopes only to have them stripped back down. 

“Well then, let’s take the sample you have and run it through the system. We still have our Seungmin’s DNA in the database. If he’s the real deal, we’ll find a match.” 

It wouldn’t take all that long but Woojin thought he couldn’t analyse the blood fast enough. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. That had happened far too many times and he didn’t want to have to pick up the broken pieces of his heart again. He didn’t want to have to console a devastated Changbin or a sobbing Jisung after they had been doing so well the past couple of years. Woojin didn’t want to think of the possibility of having one of their best friends back in their arms again only for it to be destroyed within a matter of minutes but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t help but hope. Maybe it was just a coincidence but he felt something from Seungmin, even if he didn’t quite know what he was. Then again, he was probably overthinking it because he wanted so badly to believe that Jisung’s ‘feeling’ had been right. As head of the Institute, he had to keep a clear head for now and only time would tell if he would have one of the most important people in his life returned to him or have his soul desecrated once again. 


	3. Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. I am going to try my best to update on weekends as much as I am able. Hopefully somewhere between Friday night and Sunday night. If I don't, it just means I didn't get as much as I wanted to written during the week. Let's see how long that lasts. Enjoy the chapter!

It was the rattling of a door that stirred Seungmin from his sleep this time around, with small whispers flowing through from outside.

“Jisung, Woojin is going to kill me if he finds out you went in there. Nobody else is supposed to go into his room. It’s bad enough that I let you eavesdrop on their conversation earlier.”

“Well, then, Yugyeom, I suggest you don’t let him find out,” hissed the young man now slipping into the room and closing the door in Yugyeom’s face. 

Almost as if he felt that he shouldn’t be awake, Seungmin hastily shut his eyes, just in time before the other man made his way across the room to stand beside his bed. Seungmin felt Jisung looming over him and it nearly made him jump when he felt a thumb swipe delicately across his face, touching the mole on his left cheek. 

“There are too many similarities for this to be a coincidence. You look just like him. Please don’t let this be another mistake.” 

Seungmin’s heart just about shattered when he heard the vulnerability in the other man’s whispers. He wondered who he was supposed to have looked like and in a way, he wanted to ask but in another, he just wanted to keep pretending to be asleep so that Jisung wouldn’t be upset if he wasn’t who he thought he was. As Jisung moved away from the bed and plopped down in his chair, he took out his phone to play some rather irritating sounding game but he didn’t seem to notice that Seungmin had opened his eyes once again and was watching him with careful precision. He hadn’t gotten to see Jisung’s face when he had been in his apartment with him but his voice was ingrained in his memory and he was sure that’s who he was. 

In all honesty, he didn’t really expect Jisung to look the way that he did. A slight frame with mousy brown hair that ruffled itself every time he moved wasn’t all that surprising but his rolled up sleeves revealed that he was covered in intricate, black designs. Multiple tattoos were dancing up and down his toned arms, around his neck and he assumed on his chest and back too since he could see lines disappearing beyond his collar. He was dressed in all black, cargo pants running down to combat boots and the gleaming blade that was attached to his hip made him look like he was about to go on some special ops mission, like the secret agents Seungmin remembered seeing in the movies growing up. 

“Oh, you’re awake! Sorry, I hope it wasn’t the noise from my phone that woke you.”

Seungmin jumped with a start, being so lost in examining Jisung that he didn’t realise he had looked up from his phone. The expression of unbridled joy on the other’s face confused Seungmin as he couldn’t understand why Jisung was so fond of him already. It was the same back in his apartment too. From what he remembered, Jisung had treated him with the utmost care, holding him close to his chest. All of these people had shown him more affection than he had received in such a long time and he rather liked the feeling of being looked after. 

“No, no, I’ve been awake for a little while,” Seungmin answered. 

“Oh, so you were just pretending to sleep while I’ve been sitting here?” 

Having the decency to look embarrassed, Seungmin realised his mistake when he saw the other man grin smugly at him. He pulled the blanket up over his head, thinking that he should have just said Jisung’s phone had woken him up instead of revealing that he had been too much of a coward to say that he had been awake all this time. 

“Don’t worry about it. I get it. Waking up in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, you’re bound to be a little cautious,” Jisung breathed while standing up and stretching, revealing that Seungmin’s hunch had been right about the man having tattoos on his stomach as well. “How are you feeling?” 

“All things considered, not too bad. A little disoriented with a bit of a headache.”

A small snicker from Jisung made Seungmin look up, afraid that he had just said something really stupid but relaxed when he saw the compassionate smile on the other’s face. 

“I would think so. Getting attacked like that, you would have to be Superman not to be discombobulated.” 

Seungmin really couldn’t help it when he began to giggle along with Jisung. Maybe he had a concussion or something or maybe it was just that he felt so unbelievably comfortable in Jisung’s presence, just as he had with Woojin. He couldn’t understand it but he was glad he felt at ease about the situation he was in rather than vulnerable and alone. Seungmin thought that, while Woojin didn’t answer any of his questions, Jisung seemed to be more willing to speak to Seungmin about absolutely anything, so he was going to ask while he had the chance; he knew Woojin would be back soon. While he had introduced himself to Woojin earlier on, he realised that he hadn’t done the same for Jisung and sat up straighter in the bed to face him properly as he extended his hand for Jisung to shake. 

“My name is Seungmin. It’s nice to meet you, even if I wish it was under different circumstances.” 

Jisung stood frozen and Seungmin swore that he saw the young man tear up a little before rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. People in this place really seemed to react strangely when he told them his name for some reason. Fighting through the ragged breaths, Jisung slowly trudged forward, grabbing Seungmin's hand and bowing a little. 

“So I’ve heard. You know, since I had my ear pressed up against the door earlier,” Jisung muttered while scratching his neck. “Hi, Minnie. It’s nice to see you again.” 

Frowning a little at the nickname, Seungmin tried to retract his hand but it seemed like Jisung wasn’t planning on letting him go just yet, the feeling of desperation making itself known through the almost painful grip that the mousy haired man wouldn’t let up on. 

“I’m Jisung by the way.”

“Yeah, I know.” 

Jisung’s head shot up with eyebrows raised; a stupefied look caused his jaw to drop open as he continued to stare at Seungmin. 

“You...you know who I am?”

“Yeah, you were one of the guys who saved me from that monster. Earlier? In my apartment?” 

Seungmin was tired of making people look so dejected when they should be smiling. Worrying his lip between his teeth, Jisung glanced down at the ground where he was kicking his foot like an embarrassed child. 

“Right, of course that’s the reason you remember me.”

It was cruel when he thought about it and he knew he shouldn’t be taking advantage of Jisung’s kindness in this moment but Seungmin desperately wanted to know about everything that had happened and he was going to do whatever it took to find out this time around. 

“Jisung, is it alright if I ask you a few things? I feel like I can trust you to give me a straightforward answer.” 

That definitely did the trick as all trepidation flew out the window and Jisung eagerly took his place beside Seungmin on the bed, grasping the hand he had literally let go of a couple of seconds ago. 

“Of course you can trust me! I can answer your questions, no problem. Anything for you, Minnie.”

Seungmin felt like a complete asshole for playing off of the obvious weakness that Jisung had been displaying, just wanting to help Seungmin in any way that he could, even if he wasn’t the person that he hoped he was. Dipping his head a little as he played with the blankets of his bed, Seungmin really didn’t want to look into the bright, expectant eyes of the other man, the reassuring grip on his hand just making him feel worse about exploiting Jisung but it didn’t matter all that much when they both heard a raised voice outside of their room. 

“Ah! You’re back! And about to go into Seungmin’s room! With Changbin too!” 

“Yugyeom, why the hell are you yelling?” chided a voice that Seungmin knew was Woojin and he grinned that the elder man had kept his promise and returned so quickly. 

However, it seemed that Yugyeom’s yelling had been for the sake of Jisung who swung around at the sound and muttered a million curses under his breath before quickly scanning around the room, looking for a hiding spot. He suddenly dropped to the ground and shimmied under the bed, drawing his legs up to his chest and zipping his lips. 

“Jisung? What are you doing?” inquired Seungmin as he leaned over the side of the bed to see Jisung in a fetal position underneath it. Doing so caused his shoulder to cramp up but he was more worried about the reaction that the young man now placed beneath his bed had just given. 

“Shush! Sit back up! I’m not supposed to be here. Pretend like I’m not. Please, for the sake of my life!” Jisung pleaded. 

Seungmin jolted back up just in time for Woojin to waltz back into the room, followed by another who, from Yugyeom’s earlier yelling, he could only assume to be Changbin. He was dressed rather similarly to Jisung except he had a tight fitted leather jacket secured around his shoulders. His ebony hair had a tint of violet running through it, making it shimmer in the light of the fluorescent bulbs but the countless earrings that fell from his ears, plus the piercing that was placed in his right eyebrow were even more dazzling. He gave off a rather intimidating air, one that showed he was not to be messed with in any way but the warm smile that was now directed at Seungmin gave off an entirely different vibe. 

“You’re still awake? I thought you might have got some shut eye in while I was gone,” Woojin hummed, taking Jisung’s earlier spot on Seungmin’s bed while Changbin remained standing a little further away, almost as if he was afraid to go near Seungmin. He began to stroll around the room, seemingly admiring the peculiar paintings on the walls but still kept that gigantic smile upon his face.

“I did, I fell asleep for a little while after you left but…” Seungmin trailed off, remembering Jisung’s pleas. He couldn’t say why he had woken up without giving the young man under his bed away and Seungmin didn’t want to betray Jisung like that.

Raising his eyebrows as an incentive for Seungmin to continue, Woojin moved his hand forwards and brushed a few stray hairs out of the redhead's eyes, making Seungmin wonder how the hell he had become so used to Woojin fussing over him like that in such a short amount of time when he simply sat there and accepted his touch without a hint of uncomfortableness. 

“But I’m guessing some loud, annoying squirrel went against the rules _ again _ and slithered into your room, even when he _ knew _he wasn’t supposed to. Isn’t that right, Jisung?” 

A loud scream ripped its way throughout the room as Changbin bent down and grabbed Jisung’s ankles, dragging him out from under the bed and placing his foot on top of his chest. 

“How the _ fuck _did you know I was under there?”

“Because you’re awful at concealing your presence. Work on that in training tomorrow,” Changbin beamed smugly. “Plus, Wooj figured that, since you didn’t come to find me like he asked you to, you were probably doing something you shouldn’t have been doing. Hence, how we figured you’d be here, hiding like a little wimp.”

Snorting derisively, Jisung stuck his tongue in his cheek, not missing a beat when Changbin had been so overconfident that he forgot about how Jisung was just as skilled as he was when it came to overpowering an opponent. Maneuvering his leg, Jisung kicked straight up, hitting Changbin where the sun didn’t shine and causing the slightly older man to double over in pain. It took all of two seconds for Jisung to jump up and pin Changbin to the ground before the two of them were rolling around the infirmary floor, yelling insults at each other, which Woojin could do nothing but roll his eyes at. 

“This is nothing new. I’m so used to it at this stage that I don’t even notice. You sure you don’t remember them doing this? They’ve been at it since they were kids. Seems like it would be awfully hard to forget.” 

Seungmin tilted his head slightly, confused as to how he would ever recall Changbin and Jisung fighting when he had just met them. 

“That’s not surprising.” Jisung grunted, currently winning the fight, pressing Changbin’s face into the immaculately clean floor. “Why the hell would he ever want to remember someone as ugly and irritating as Changb-?”

All noise in the room vanished when Jisung allowed himself to go lax, finally understanding what Woojin had meant, completely ignoring Changbin still trying to rile him up. 

“Remember it? Wait, you guys went to analyse the blood, right? Does that mean…?” 

Seungmin could see Jisung’s body shake with electricity but his gaze was drawn back to Woojin as he continued to fix Seungmin’s hair, twirling it around in his fingers.

“Yeah, Sungie. It came back as a positive match. It’s him,” declared Woojin, his voice barely above a whisper, almost as if he raised it any higher, he would scare Jisung away. 

Barely letting a second pass, Changbin pushed himself up off of the floor and enveloped Jisung in a warm embrace since he knew his friend wouldn’t react quietly to this particular piece of news. His suspicions were confirmed when he felt Jisung latch onto the back of his jacket, hiding his face in Changbin’s neck and beginning to wail loudly. 

“Hey, Sungie, shh. It’s ok,” Changbin reassured, but was quick to pull away when Jisung wriggled around in his arms, leaping up off of the floor and throwing himself at the young man situated in the bed that was still trying to make sense of the situation. 

Seungmin admitted that, despite only having limited interaction with the other three men, he had come to the conclusion that he liked their company and not just because they had saved him from getting mauled by some rabid monster earlier on in the night. There was something safe about them, something that made him want to spend all the time he could with them but he wasn’t quite at the stage where he wanted to initiate bone crushing hugs yet. That didn’t seem to matter to Jisung since he now had his arms wrapped around Seungmin’s neck, swinging slightly from side to side and wiping his snot in the redhead’s shoulder. 

“Minnie, Minnie, Minnie...You came back. We finally found you! I’ve missed you so much! This isn’t a dream, right? Bin! Pinch me or something! If I wake up from this, I’m going to be so pissed!” 

“Um, can you let go of me, please?” 

It seemed Jisung really took it to heart when Seungmin placed his hands against his chest and began to push him away, signifying how uncomfortable he was at the sudden skinship that the other had initiated. 

Realising that the whole reason Seungmin hadn’t hugged him back was because he basically had no idea who he was, Jisung lifted his head from the crook of his neck and told himself to get it together. He would pull away too if some stranger he met about ten minutes ago started clinging to him and bawling his eyes out. With a sniffle and a sheepish smile, Jisung released his grip and backed off, mumbling apologies before Woojin grabbed onto his hand and pulled him to sit on the bed beside him. 

“Sorry about that, Seungmin. He’s just easily excitable.”

Simply nodding his head, Seungmin glanced at Jisung who was still grasping Woojin’s hand with incredible force, hiding behind the elder and leaning against his shoulder. The vast change in his demeanor worried Seungmin a little. This Jisung, trembling and frail, definitely wasn’t the same one he met a few minutes ago. 

“That’s ok. Just surprised me. Are you alright, Jisung?” Seungmin asked, craning his head just enough to see Jisung nod with a little chuckle. 

“He’s still as compassionate as ever,” huffed Changbin, moving just a tad closer but still maintaining a reasonable distance. 

It didn’t feel all that great being the only one left out of the very obvious loop like this. It was more than clear that the other three men in the room knew something about him and Seungmin wasn’t going to sit here any longer feeling like an idiot. 

“Jisung, what did you mean when you said I ‘came back?’ Why do you keep calling me Minnie? You...you make it sound like you know who I am.” 

Never having felt hope like this, Seungmin’s own fingers had begun to shake as he grasped the blankets beneath him. He remembered, as a kid, he would hear about a parent who had lost a child in the explosion and were searching for them. They would come to visit the children’s home to see if he was their lost loved one and Seungmin recalled how excited he would be to possibly find his family again. Always dressing smartly and putting on his biggest smile, he thought he would want to look his best in case his parents had come to take him home but each and every time, he would be met with a crying mother or a father solemnly shaking his head, letting him know that he was not their little boy. It always killed him when he would take off his nicest clothes and hang them up in his closet, eventually sitting there to gather dust since people stopped coming by to see if he was their missing son. Seungmin cried himself to sleep each night this occurred but after a few months, he became numb to it, almost as if he were expecting them to turn him away, which they always did. 

But now? Now he was facing people who looked at him like he hung the stars, speaking about him like he was one of their closest friends, a member of their family. Seungmin had always told himself not to hope anymore. Hope was an emotion to be felt only by children and only bore fruit in storybooks but in this moment, he couldn’t help the little flower of expectation that was blooming in his chest when he saw three cheerful and enthusiastic smiles directed at him as he made the final statement. 

“Yes, Seungmin, we know who you are. Probably better than anyone in the entire world,” Woojin supplied, placing his hand atop Seungmin’s when he saw how badly he was shaking. 

“How? How do you guys know me? Because I certainly don’t know who you are.”

“We know because you used to live here with us,” Changbin explained, coming up behind Jisung and rubbing the younger’s neck as he was still nestled into Woojin’s back, holding onto the end of his rumpled sweater. “Your name is Kim Seungmin, you are twenty two years old, you were born in Seoul and you were- no, you _ are _one of our best friends.” 

“I am? Kim Seungmin...that’s my full name? Wait, how can you guys be so certain that you’re not mistaking me for someone else? You might have the wrong guy here. I don’t mean to question you but I’ve been in this position far too many times before and I just don’t want to be disappointed again,” Seungmin faltered, lowering his eyes, trying his best not to let the others see how scared he was that his expectations would not be met once more. 

The air was stagnant, clogged with the heaviness of the situation but everything suddenly felt lighter when Woojin laughed a little, not in a mocking sort of way but in a way to put Seungmin’s mind at rest. 

“Before you woke up, I took a sample of your blood, just to see if the poison had left your system, which it has but I thought it might be a good idea to put it through our database to see if we could identify you and it came back with a positive match.” 

Brow crumpled in confusion, Seungmin shook his head slightly, not quite understanding any point of Woojin’s previous sentence. 

“First of all, I’m not in any system. The police went through every database available and I wasn’t found in any of them, which is strange in itself but how could you have one that they didn’t?” 

This time, it was Jisung who answered, finally raising his head to hook his chin over Woojin’s shoulder and stare at Seungmin with teary eyes. 

“We have a log that isn’t available to Mundanes, Minnie. It’s the index of all Shadowhunters, past and present and since you are one, you were still in it. Your DNA matched to Kim Seungmin, our friend who disappeared when he was twelve years old because he was involved in a demon attack in downtown Seoul on Christmas Eve. Any of that sound familiar?” 

Mundane? Shadowhunter? Demons? There were far too many things in Jisung’s explanation that made zero sense to Seungmin and he was sure he felt a migraine coming on. This really was too much for him to take in. He couldn’t understand how someone finally recognised him, after ten years of being alone. He had apparently found someone he was close to before he lost his memories, all because some monster had attacked him in his home. A coincidence, pure luck. Something clicked inside of Seungmin’s head, a small detail momentarily pushed aside amidst the chaos of his head.

“Wait, that thing that attacked me, it called me a Shadowhunter too. It seemed like it wanted to kill me because of that but you stopped it. What was that thing? Did it really poison me? What’s a Shadowhunter? What are you guys? Can you _ please _answer my questions now?” Seungmin pleaded, his mind running wild and creating far too many worrying scenarios. 

“Ok, ok, calm down. Firstly, you are currently in the Seoul Institute, where the three of us plus many other Shadowhunters live,” Woojin clarified, using the softest tone he could. “It is a place that's a base for us and a haven for other Shadowhunters that may be travelling. There are Institutes in every major city in the world. We also offer it as a place for Mundanes or Downworlders if they are in serious danger.” 

“Uh, Wooj, I don’t think your explanation if making it any clearer for him.”

Changbin snorted a little at the look of complete and utter confoundedness on Seungmin’s face, picking up that, while Woojin was truly proficient in speaking, he had never had to explain their world to a Shadowhunter without a memory before. Everything was all brand new Seungmin. 

“Right...I should explain what a Shadowhunter is first. All of us in this room are one, Seungmin. We are the soldiers that were appointed by the angel Raziel to watch and preside over the supernatural of this world. We are essentially human, yes, but we also have the blood of angels running through our veins. That’s what makes us different from Mundanes, who are regular humans that know nothing of our world. For the most part, Shadowhunters are born as they are, just like you were. If your parents were Shadowhunters, that means that you will be too. It is our job to destroy the demons and protect the innocent lives that would be threatened by them. Are you following me so far?” 

Seungmin’s eyes darted wildly to each of the men standing in front of him before he nodded very carefully and moved his hands away from Woojin’s. “So, what you’re saying is...is that you’re kind of like the police of the underworld or something?”

Jisung’s laughter was definitely the loudest but Changbin and Woojin were right there along with him in their chuckling. 

“Yeah, Minnie, I guess you could say it like that,” Jisung cackled as he wiped away the tears from his eyes but nobody could tell if they stemmed from his earlier breakdown or because of how much Seungmin had just made him laugh. 

“Well, ok then. It was very nice meeting all of you but I’m gonna go...towards that door...and hopefully none of you will stop me leaving,” Seungmin whispered as he attempted to get up out of the bed by removing the cuff on his arm. He eyed his shoes on that were located in the corner of the room and prayed that he would be able to reach them before he sprinted out the door. 

He couldn’t believe that he was in the same room as three deranged people and had managed to survive. They all seemed so put together, so sane but he was beginning to think that they were involved in some sort of cult and were just playing with his head to get him to join too. Though, worshiping angels wasn’t the worst thing he could have thought of but it was still a bit weird, especially thinking that they had been given a mission by them to protect people. It was perfect really, recruiting those who had no lives to live; he was sure some people would jump at the chance to serve some higher deity for the rest of their lives. Not Seungmin though. He was going to get out while he could. 

“What?! Leave?! No! No, Minnie, you can’t leave! Woojin, do something!” Jisung roared, latching onto Seungmin’s arm and refusing to let go. 

No matter how much Seungmin struggled, it seemed that Jisung was _ substantially _stronger than him. Maybe that was something they focused on in this cult. Then, Changbin tried to unwind Jisung’s arms from around Seungmin, yelling that it would only make him more skittish about the whole scenario and wouldn’t help them in any way, shape or form. It wasn’t long before all three young men were in the middle of a squabble, trying to each make their points heard by yelling loudly. 

“You can see them, can’t you?” 

Seungmin thought that Woojin definitely had their air of a leader about him when silence followed his words, all of them willing to shut up for two seconds to hear what the raven haired man had to say. 

“You’ve noticed them all your life. Monsters. Creatures so hideous that it scared you to your very soul. Those are the demons I’ve talked about. You’ve pretty much already confirmed that you can see them since you talked about the demon that attacked you in your apartment. You can’t say that you don’t believe in them since you definitely saw that one.” 

When he put it that way, Seungmin couldn’t deny, what he thought was, an accusation. It hadn’t been a figment of his imagination, that was for sure and the pain that was still creeping along his shoulder was proof that he hadn’t created the attack inside of his head either. 

“It’s not just them though, is it? You’ve seen other things you can’t explain. They told you that there was no such thing, right? When you would mention it as a kid? People with sharp fangs, pointed ears on their head, beautiful wings sprouting from their backs? Vampires, werewolves, fairies. You stopped talking about them because you were worried people would think you were crazy. You thought that they might vanish if you ignored them but they didn’t, did they?”

That was true. Seungmin didn’t know how long he had tried to convince everyone around him that there were creatures unlike them roaming the streets, so ghastly and terrifying that it made him pray every night to stop seeing them. On the other hand, he also remembered those people that Woojin had described, ones that looked just like him but with supernatural features. They acted just like he did, not paying him any attention and just going about their daily lives. He had no qualms about being able to see them; most of the time, they were rather beautiful to look at, even if it scared him that nobody else noticed them. 

“They’re what’s known as Downworlders. They do not pose a threat like demons do since we have a sort of treaty with them but it’s the same as it is with Mundanes; there are always a select few that like to stir up trouble. Many demons are simply mindless monsters set on destruction but Downworlders are just like you and me in the sense of consciousness and discernment. We oversee them as well but each group has their own individual leaders in different parts of the world too and we collaborate with some of them. They’re real Seungmin, all of them and you can see them because each Shadowhunter is born with the Sight and to enhance our Sight, when we begin our official training to become a Shadowhunter, we get our first rune: the Voyance rune, which is usually placed on the back of our hand.” 

Raising his arm so that he could gesture to the mark, Woojin tipped the back of his left hand, showing off the eye that Seungmin had seen earlier, the one that he too had on his hand. When he saw Jisung and Changbin move in sync, his eyes widened when he noticed the exact same thing on the back of their hands. Maybe what they were saying wasn’t as crazy as he first made it out to be. 

Everything that Woojin was trying to explain made sense. He had seen them, all the different types of otherworldly creatures but he thought that they all resided in his head since nobody else he had ever talked to could see them. He knew that Changbin and Jisung could see them too; they had saved him from one and from what he could remember, they had slain it to stop it from killing him. 

“Nobody else in the world uses runes, Seungmin. No Downworlder race uses them and Mundanes cannot survive them being applied to their skin, so, if you look at it that way, you _ have _to be a Shadowhunter. There are many that we apply to our bodies to increase our abilities and give us powers that would otherwise by unattainable. They are a gift from the angels that were given to Shadowhunters.”

Looking downwards, Seungmin traced the outline of his so called ‘rune’. He bit on his lip harshly, trying to figure out if he should trust Woojin’s words. For some reason, he so badly wanted to accept them.

“Seungmin, I know this is a lot to take in and I get it if you don’t believe us straight away but I think, if you let us show you our world, you could come to understand it. You used to be a part of it or, rather, it used to be a part of you. Please don’t leave until you give us a chance. We’re not going to hold you here against your will but...please, Seungmin. We don’t want to lose you again.” 

If Seungmin had known Woojin in the past, he had the funniest feeling that he wouldn’t have been able to say ‘no’ to him back then either. The pure look of desperation while trying to maintain a calm demeanor was something that tugged at Seungmin’s heartstrings and, as crazy as everything they were trying to feed him sounded, he couldn’t deny that there was a possibility that all of it could have been true. As he looked to Changbin trying to hold back Jisung as the young man scrambled to get back to him, Seungmin inhaled deeply before nodding his head, indicating that he was willing to give them a chance to convince him about a life he might have once led. Besides, what did he have to lose? 

The warm smile that had been present on Woojin’s face when he first interacted with Seungmin was now firmly set upon his face again as he stood and walked up to him. He side eyed Changbin and Jisung, a silent warning that they were to behave and not jump Seungmin since he had agreed to go with them. It seemed to do the trick as Changbin released his grip but Jisung only put his hands behind his back with a little shake of his head. 

Placing his hand upon Seungmin’s shoulder, Woojin gestured with his free hand to the door that he was to walk out of. Once outside, Seungmin noticed a tall young man standing guard, who he assumed to be Yugyeom since he had heard the name so many times. Woojin told him to cancel the food that he had ordered for Seungmin; they would take him to the dining hall shortly themselves. When Yugyeom looked at all of them like they had sprouted an extra head, Changbin simply patted his shoulder, saying they would explain later. 

As they traversed down the hallway, it seemed as if they were making their way to some living quarters, not where Seungmin had been expecting to go at all. Noticing the redhead’s confusion, Woojin smiled reassuringly as he walked ahead, with Jisung and Changbin following slowly behind. 

“Before we explain any more about the Shadowhunter world, I think there’s somewhere that we should take you first. You should find out more about _ who _ you are rather than _ what _ you are. Come on, follow me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why, oh, why didn't they find Seungmin sooner? There's got to be a reason for that, right?


	4. Esoteric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onto chapter 4 we go.

After walking for some time, passing countless doors, a few of which Jisung pointed to, saying that those were the rooms that they stayed in, the four of them ended up in front of a large, mahogany door. Woojin arrived first but stepped aside and gestured for Seungmin to go in before him. 

“Go ahead,” Woojin encouraged, squeezing his shoulder soothingly. 

With hesitant steps, Seungmin placed his palm upon the door and pushed. After everything he had encountered today, he wasn’t entirely sure what to expect on the other side but his suspicions seemed to be confirmed when a simple bedroom stood in front of him. Well, simple wouldn’t be the accurate word to describe it. It was quite beautifully decorated. A grand sleigh bed sat against the back wall, plum quilt falling on top of it. A rug of similar colour was found underneath on the clean, wooden floor, which also housed a beautiful armoire just behind the door. There were bookcases full of ancient looking files, manuels on a number of unusual topics and were accompanied by blooming flowers that looked to be in rather excellent condition. There were pictures dotted around the area and little trinkets found on the shelves and bedside table, some looking like action figures and model cars. Whoever owned this room really took care of the space; it was something that looked like it came straight out of a hotel brochure. 

And, in a way, that was the problem. It felt a little bit empty, like the soul of the room was missing. It gave off a feeling that, while there wasn’t a speck of dust to be found, it was almost as if nobody lived here. As Seungmin continued to scan the room, he felt a presence approach him before Woojin came to stand beside him, doing the same as Seungmin and taking in everything he could about the space. 

“This is your room.”   


Seungmin spun around as he sent Woojin a questioning look, only to be met with one of fondness. 

“My room? Wait, hold on a second, I haven’t agreed to stay with you guys yet. I still don’t quite believe everything that’s going on here.”

“No, Minnie. This is _ your _room, the one you had when you used to live here. You know, before,” Jisung clarified, gesturing with his hands to show that he was referring to a while ago. 

“Oh…” 

Seungmin caught onto the fact that Jisung was saying this was where he used to live before the accident. He didn’t remember it, not that it was all that surprising; there was very little he could remember but he thought it could have been plausible that he would stay somewhere like this. 

“After you died...or disappeared, we were supposed to clear it out and allow it to be used for something or someone else but…” Jisung trailed off, looking abashedly at his feet before Changbin took it upon himself to complete his sentence. 

“But Jisung wouldn’t let us or anyone else move anything in case you came back someday. He’s kept it clean all these years, which is even more surprising when his own room is a pigsty.” 

The look of raw betrayal was clear on Jisung’s face as he quickly punched Changbin in the arm with far too much force, so much so that the slightly older man lost his balance and hit his hip off of the bookcase to his left. He was obviously still trying to behave, trying to follow Woojin’s silent order from earlier but Jisung was making it so damn hard. Biting his tongue, Changbin sent Jisung a look that said ‘you’ll pay for that later.’ 

Taking a brave step forwards, Seungmin glanced around the room, soaking in every detail that he could in case something jogged his memory. Walking up to the fireplace that looked like it hadn’t been used in a while, he took notice of the photo frames that lined the mantlepiece. One showed three boys smiling, none that looked like him but when he studied it carefully after taking it in his hand, he couldn’t deny that they looked an awful lot like the three men standing behind him. A young boy with chubby cheeks and a giant smile, another that stood tall and proud with hands clasped politely in front of him and the final one pouting slightly with his arms crossed over his chest. As he looked back to make the comparison, he noticed the others weren’t paying attention to him, perhaps to try and give him the space he needed to examine the room. 

Picking another picture up, the same three boys were present but another, a small bespectacled red headed child, stood amongst them, a broad grin showing that his front tooth was missing and Seungmin didn’t need to see anymore to know exactly who it was. There had been photos of him from the children’s home just after he had arrived and it was easy to liken the two images. It was definitely him and the three boys were definitely the others currently in the room. He had known them. This picture was proof. Even if he couldn’t recollect them in this moment, he had been friends with them at one stage if their smiles were anything to go by. 

Setting the photo back down with shaky hands, Seungmin picked up the final one that stood to the left. He was once again standing at the forefront with a smile but it was a different one than that of the previous picture. The last smile was full of mischief, one that told him he probably used to get into a lot of trouble with Woojin, Changbin and Jisung but this one was proud and beautiful. The two people standing behind him in the photo wore the exact same one and Seungmin couldn’t deny that the three of them looked incredibly happy together. 

A woman with chocolate curls and flecks of strength visible in her emerald green eyes placed her arms around the boy’s waist, bending down to squish her cheek against his. A man with broad shoulders and an air of undeniable courage ruffled Seungmin’s hair that was the exact same colour as his own. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that they were a family and one that cared deeply about each other. Gliding his thumb across the glass, Seungmin felt an unfamiliar emotion claw its way up the back of his throat. 

“These are...they’re my...mom...dad...”

_ A deafening explosion, a flash of red light, screaming all around him, fear like he never felt before. _

_ ‘Stay right here, sweetheart, we’ll be right back.’ _

_ Tears welling up in his eyes. _

_ ‘Ok, Mama.’ Standing all alone amongst the pandemonium. _

_ ‘Seungmin!’ Everything fading into nothingness. _

As his hand flew up to cradle his head after an incredible pain flew throughout his temples, Seungmin let the frame fall to the ground, cracking the glass and sending it flying in all directions. Woojin was quick to run to Seungmin, pulling him away from the destruction that he had just caused which Changbin immediately began to clean up. 

“Seungmin, look at me. Are you alright? Where does it hurt?” 

“Head...my head...I don’t know what’s-”

“Shh, it’s ok. Here, lie down on the bed for a second.”

Woojin and Jisung each supported one of his elbows as they guided him to the edge of the bed before lowering him slowly to take the weight off of his feet. Seungmin ended up lying flat on his back, eyes scrunched shut until the agony in his head began to subside. He figured that would happen eventually but he also attributed the relief to Woojin’s fingers once again running through his hair and Jisung grazing his knuckles with his thumb. This affection was very foreign to him in one way but in another, he felt like he had been in this position many times before. 

“Minnie, what was that about, hmm?” Jisung questioned in a light voice, not wanting Seungmin to think he was scolding him for breaking the frame. 

“I’m not sure. Something, a memory, I think. It felt like I remembered something. The explosion that I was involved in. The woman in the photo. I saw her there...” Seungmin mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as he saw Jisung and Woojin exchange a glance, one he already knew the meaning to. “She was my mother, wasn’t she?” 

A sad smile that confirmed his theory was placed upon Changbin’s lips as he came to stand beside his bed after disposing of the glass. 

“Yeah, Seungmin, the people in that photo were your parents and they loved you so much. Nothing could tear you guys apart, your bond was unbelievably strong. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that they were so incredibly proud of the person you were too.”

Scoffing a little as he felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes, Seungmin sat up a little now that his head was somewhat clear again. 

“I wonder if they’d be proud of the person I turned out to be.” 

Seungmin felt the air of the room darken a little as his shoulders sagged but realised he shouldn’t be bringing the mood down when the others were trying to help him, giving him information about the life he once led. 

“Sorry, never mind. Do you guys have any idea what happened to them? My mom and dad? Were they in the explosion too?” 

Woojin’s face fell the moment Seungmin asked the question, letting him know that they had indeed been caught up in the madness, just like him. 

“To be honest, Seungmin, we still don’t know everything that happened that night. What you’ve been told about it so far covers a lot of what we know,” Woojin explained, maneuvering himself to sit straighter on the bed. “However, what we do know is that it wasn’t a gas leak like the government said. It was a demon attack, hundreds of them who started to attack everyone around them. Whatever blew up, it was merely a side effect. Nothing of that scale has been recorded here before, we don’t know why it happened or how but yes, your parents were there with you but they didn’t make it out. I’m sorry. Their bodies were recovered and we knew that you were with them on that particular night so, everyone just assumed that your body had been lost amongst the dozens other Mundanes and Shadowhunters.” 

It was what he had been expecting really. He knew that, if what they were saying was true, that if his parents really did love him, then they would have searched day and night until they found him but it still hurt to know that the family he once had were no longer in this world. 

“But it’s not like we didn’t look for you anyways!” Jisung hurriedly chimed in, shimmying up the bed to be closer to Seungmin. “We searched for ages, day and night but the higher ups told us that it was pointless. The hospitals we went to wouldn’t give out details to a bunch of kids. There was only so much the three of us could do. We didn’t get very far before we were ordered to stop looking and...wasting time.”

Seungmin felt the need to reassure Jisung that he wasn’t angry with him. He knew from the type of person Jisung was, or what he had seen of him anyways, that he would do absolutely anything for his friends. So, to lose one, not be able to find him and be told by the adults that he was more than likely dead must have broken Jisung’s heart as a kid. He didn’t doubt that they had searched for him, probably running themselves into the ground in an attempt to bring their missing friend home. Patting Jisung’s hand with a small smile, Seungmin let him know that it was alright and he held no grudges. 

For a moment, he was sure that he imagined it but when Seungmin focused in on Woojin’s face, he could see the underlying look of annoyance as he bit his lip, eyes cast to his hands, nails digging into the skin. It was the first time since he had met the elder that Seungmin saw his composure break so he patted his knee to try and bring him back from whatever dark corner of his mind he was after entering. Jumping a little at the contact, Woojin locked eyes with Seungmin and let all of his anger seep away until the look of peace replaced it. 

“Look, I’m not saying that I am one hundred percent on board with everything yet. You have to realise that this is a hell of a lot to take in. If you’ve lived a regular life like I have, when you talk about demons and angels, werewolves and faeries, it’s all a bit inconceivable.” 

All three men nodded their heads quickly to agree with Seungmin’s statement but they all held an aura of hope when they heard the redhead’s words, liking the direction they were taking the conversation. 

“But I don’t _ think _ that you guys are lying to me. This seems like it would be an awfully elaborate set up just to get me to join this...whatever this is. You’re going to have to explain things to me and be patient. If you’re willing to help me, then I can try.” 

Jisung’s face looked like it could light up a hundred cities with his smile. He was so thrilled that Seungmin was beginning to come around and, even though he knew that he may never get the ‘old’ Seungmin back, he was willing to start anew and help Seungmin to become accustomed to everything that his previous life once held. 

A sizzling sound suddenly filled the air as Seungmin looked for its source. He admittedly leapt off of the bed a little when a little flame flew towards Woojin, who immediately held up his hand to catch it between his fingers. Without thinking, Seungmin grabbed the elder’s wrist beginning to blow on the flame with urgency, only to realise that it had already extinguished and had been replaced with a piece of paper. Still blowing lightly, being so confused by the situation, Seungmin looked to Woojin to explain what had just happened, why his fingers hadn’t been burned by the fire that had most definitely been there a second ago. 

“It’s ok, Seungmin,” Woojin chuckled as he showed him the piece of white paper that he began to unfold. “This is a fire message. It’s a form of communication that some Shadowhunters use. We put the rune for fire on the paper and it burns itself before it is sent to the receiver so that nobody else can intercept it and read it before the person it was meant for. Then, when it arrives, it reforms so that they can read it.”

Seungmin had a feeling that there would be so much explanation needed for this new life he had been thrown into. Even if he never really believed in the idea of magic, he couldn’t deny what he had just seen. That was definitely something that wouldn’t happen in his world but, apparently, it was something that could in the Shadowhunter’s one. 

“Oh, ok. You guys don’t use phones? I saw Jisung playing with one earlier,” Seungmin blurted out, still staring at the piece of paper in Woojin’s hand. 

“Most of us do, yeah. However, there is a place where most modern devices don’t work. It’s called Alicante and it’s the capital city of Idris, which is a sanctuary for Shadowhunters that is hidden from Mundanes. That’s where the Clave, which is our, for lack of a better word, government, resides. There are a lot of wards that protect it from demon attacks and Mundanes finding it so, a lot of electronic devices are useless within it. That’s why we use things like fire messages, even if they’re a bit archaic,” Changbin commented, doing his best to be as nonchalant as possible as he tried to subtly read the message over Woojin’s shoulder, which didn’t seem to work as Woojin quickly folded over the paper and placed it in his pocket before standing up. 

“I have to take care of something. Bin, you know where to find me if you need anything. I have a feeling that this will take a while,” he grumbled, showing how peeved he was about the contents of the message. 

“You got it, Wooj. We’ll look after Seungmin, probably get him something to eat soon. He hasn’t eaten since yesterday.” 

With a nod of his head and a final smile thrown towards Seungmin, Woojin quietly exited the room, leaving the other three men alone in the momentary silence. 

“So, so, so! Minnie, can we start telling you about who you used to be? See if it jogs anything in that noggin of yours?” Jisung sang excitedly as he tapped on Seungmin’s forehead. 

“Sure, Jisung.”

“Well, first of all, you used to call me Sungie. That’s the first thing you need to start doing! Changbin was either Bin or Binnie and Woojin was always Wooj. They might feel a little foreign on your tongue at first and maybe you want to get to know us a bit better before you use nicknames but perhaps if you used them, it might make it easier for you to readjust?” 

“Alright...Sungie. That feels weird, may take time to get used to. So, do you want me to ask questions or do you want to do your own thing?” 

Before Jisung could answer the query, Changbin finally edged closer and patted Jisung’s head. 

“Sungie always does his own thing in every aspect of his life, whether you want him to or not.”

“Thanks for that, Bin.” 

Even though they had constantly bickered and fought since the moment he met them, Seungmin could tell that there was an exceedingly special relationship between Jisung and Changbin; a brotherly bond that went above and beyond. It was plain to see that Changbin saw himself as a voice of reason for Jisung, a confidant that was to guide him in the right direction and it seemed like Jisung was more than content to let him. On the other hand, Changbin seemed a bit more introverted, slightly standoffish but Seungmin thought that nobody was more qualified to help bring Changbin out of his shell that Jisung. It was sweet, a truly special relationship that tied them together. 

“Well, how about this? You tell us something about yourself now and we’ll tell you something about you from before. Let’s see, we told you the basics. Oh! When do you celebrate your birthday?” Jisung squeaked excitedly. 

“To be honest, I don’t celebrate my birthday since the date on my documents isn’t my real one. Thought it was kind of pointless. They just used the day that I was found as my birth date, which was yesterday, I guess”  


Apparently, that wasn’t the answer Jisung was looking for when he let out an overly animated gasp and clasped his hand over his mouth. 

“You don’t celebrate your birthday?! Didn’t your friends ever want to do something special with you?” 

“I guess they would if I had any.”

Jisung immediately opened his mouth to ask him what that meant; surely he had someone in his life to call a friend. When he felt Changbin’s hand upon his shoulder and saw a subtle shake of his head, the younger immediately dropped the subject and swiftly moved on. 

“Nope, that’s not acceptable! That is something that is most definitely going to change. Your real birthday is the twenty-second of September and you are exactly eight days younger than me,” Jisung informed him proudly, as if that gave him some sort of advantage over Seungmin. “Changbin is a year older than us and Woojin is three years older.” 

Seungmin hummed in acknowledgement, taking in every little piece of information that he could. As much as he kept reiterating that he was not fully convinced of their entire story yet, he couldn’t hide the truth from himself like he could with Changbin and Jisung. Never in his entire life had he felt like he belonged somewhere but here, in the presence of the others, he finally felt like he was home. Maybe it was wishful thinking, maybe he was convincing himself of something that never really existed but there was something there, in his chest, that told him this is where he should stay. 

“What do you do for a living? Oh, how about what you do in your free time? Wait, do you have any pets? Or tell us about your favourite foods!”

“Jisung! One question at a time, you hyperactive moron. You see the shit I have to put up with, Seungmin?” 

Putting his arm out to act as a barrier between them, Seungmin snickered when Jisung was already beginning to lunge towards Changbin for his snarky comment. Maybe Woojin had been right when he said their bickering would have been awfully hard to forget since his body almost reacted on its own to stop a physical fight occurring. 

“How about we continue this conversation over some food? You must be pretty hungry, huh, Seungmin? That’s probably the reason you still feel a little iffy. Come on, we’ll get you something to eat,” Changbin proposed.

In a flash, Jisung was beside Seungmin to help him stand once again but Seungmin quickly let him know that he was feeling well enough to support himself, though it looked like Jisung doubted how truthful he was being with them. He hoped that he really was feeling alright and not just saying it so that Jisung wouldn’t come near him.

“Do you guys eat like normal food or some weird supernatural stuff that enhances your powers?”

“What would qualify as ‘supernatural stuff’ exactly?” queried Changbin as he glanced back at the redhead. 

Seungmin shrugged his shoulders as his cheeks flushed a little when he realised that probably not everything would be strange and different in this world and that he had probably just made a fool of himself by asking that particular question.

“Not unless you put cheesecake under that category.”

“Jisung, you need to eat something besides cheesecake. Please, for once in your life. I can practically hear your digestive system screaming at you to give it some decent food!” 

Giving Changbin an incredulous look that basically screamed ‘why the hell would I ever do that?’, Jisung hooked his arm with Seungmin, thankful that the other didn’t pull away at the contact. 

“I think you’re going to really like the rest of the Institute, Minnie. It looks really festive at the moment. I did most of the decorating.”

That’s right. Seungmin had almost forgotten in the hubbub of it all. It was Christmas day today. Not that it really made any difference to him but he knew it did to others, such as Jisung, who looked purely giddy at the thought of showing Seungmin his hard work. At least Christmas Eve was over for another year but he had the feeling that maybe he would be spending it differently from now on. 

“So, do you guys celebrate Christmas like...Mundanes do?” The word felt a little weird to say in that context but he told them that he would try to adapt to this new lifestyle and that’s exactly what he was going to do. 

“I suppose, in a way. We don’t really celebrate most religious or traditional cultural celebrations. That doesn’t include birthdays, make sure to remember that,” Jisung winked, still grasping onto Seungmin as if he were afraid he would try to run away. “But most of us celebrate Christmas as a custom instead, without the religious significance. We just spend some time with family and friends, give presents and have a meal together. The three of us always end the night with a nice cup of hot chocolate, with marshmallows, that’s important, by the fire and talking about the past. That’s pretty much it.”

“That sounds really nice,” Seungmin whispered with a slight grin.

“Do you not celebrate Christmas either?” 

Seungmin began to realise how drab his life actually sounded when he had to constantly describe it to Jisung and Changbin. They talked about training, fighting monsters to protect innocents, risking their lives to help people they didn’t even know, just like him and overall, they boasted about just being there for each other and he almost began to feel embarrassed at the life he had been living up to this point. With a solemn shake of his head, he let them know that it was one of his least favourite days of the year. 

“_ That _is also going to change. Come on, let’s start off by getting some breakfast to begin our day!” Jisung sang as they continued down the hall. 

“Just to be clear, I don’t have anything to give you guys as a present,” Seungmin mumbled, trying to join in on Jisung’s bright mood with a joke. 

“You finally being back with us is the best present I could ever ask for, Minnie.”

“Eww,” Seungmin groaned, smirking at Jisung’s highly unimpressed expression as Changbin began to laugh at their tomfoolery.

“Oh yeah, he’s gonna fit back in here perfectly.” 

* * *

“And you are one hundred percent positive that it’s him?”

“Yes, sir. I ran the tests and they came back as a match. There’s no mistake that it’s Seungmin.” 

The man on the screen hummed, obviously contemplating Woojin’s reply and what it could mean for him. 

“Well, this is a surprise. You need to make sure that you keep an eye on him. He’s not allowed to leave the Institute. Do you understand me? He could end up blabbing to god knows who about the Shadowhunter world. A poor judgement call on your part to tell him everything so prematurely, Woojin.” 

Woojin’s tongue was beginning to sting and he was sure he tasted blood from how roughly he was biting down on it. The man speaking always seemed to have that effect on him, making Woojin want to scream and shout that he knew what he was doing; it was why he had been assigned as head of the Institute at such a young age. However, he remained calm, as he always did. Woojin really didn’t want to give him a reason to say that he had been right, that Woojin wasn’t cut out for such a job. 

“With all due respect, sir, Seungmin is one of my closest friends-”

“_ Was _ one of your closest friends, Woojin. From what you’ve told me, he remembers nothing of his past life. He doesn’t remember _ you. _I’ll make sure to inspect him when I visit next. If he doesn’t live up to my standards, he’ll have to come to Alicante for an interrogation. I don’t trust him.” 

“Shame you don’t seem to trust my instincts either,” Woojin muttered but it seemed that it was still picked up as the man raised his eyebrows at the clear lack of respect. 

“While you have him there, you need to make sure he isn’t lying about not being able to recall any information about the night of the attack. We finally have a witness, even if he’s not considered quite reliable at this stage.” 

“We would have had him here a lot sooner if you had continued to let us look for him,” Woojin seethed, with spite practically dripping from his words. “But ‘using our time and resources to look for a child like him is such a waste when he will never amount to anything, seeing as he’s so weak. He’s more than likely dead anyways.’ Isn’t that what you said back then, _ sir _?” 

A large boom came from the other end of the line when Woojin saw the man pound his hand on the table, a look of uncontrolled vexation making his face turn crimson. 

“Kim Woojin, you will hold your tongue this instant! How dare you speak to me like that!” 

Woojin bowed his head a little as an apology, though he did not say the word outright. His bravery had gotten the better of him, allowing his tongue to become loose and spill his true thoughts on the subject of Seungmin and how he had been ordered not to waste energy in looking for someone who was of no use to the Institute according to the man on the screen all those years ago.

It was something that had angered a desperate, fifteen year old Woojin too, being told that his friend wasn’t worth the effort of being found. Seungmin’s body was one of the only ones that had not been recovered of the missing Shadowhunters that had been involved in the attack and that had bothered the young Woojin, Changbin and Jisung. They thought that surely he would have been found too if he had died along with his parents but the adults were not of the same mindset, saying that his body was probably obliterated from the blast.

Seungmin had always been a little bit slower on picking up fighting techniques when he was younger but he was still above average in Woojin’s opinion and was improving at a rapid rate just before he had disappeared. Apparently, the former head of the Institute was not of the same opinion. Seungmin’s intellect and memory was well above Woojin’s own though, Changbin and Jisung’s too but when it came down to it, the higher ups wanted warriors who could fight. That was the day Woojin realised that, by certain people, they were seen as nothing more than soldiers that could be easily disposed of and replaced and this was possibly a valid reason on why they were told to cease their search for their friend. 

Feeling words filled with poison beginning to creep up his throat again because of past memories, Woojin tried to calm himself with the thought of finally having Seungmin back with them in the present. He was already agitated enough that the young man was being considered a pawn just to be used for data by the higher ups. Not only that, Woojin was apparently supposed to make Seungmin try and remember the worst night of his life, just so they could compile the information about an attack that occurred ten years ago.

Seemingly composing himself after his outburst, the man fixed his collar before clearing his throat and straightening himself in his chair. 

“I shall report your findings on Seungmin to the rest of the Clave. I’ll be returning to the Institute in two weeks for a short amount of time to check up on everything. Be ready for my arrival and try not to do anything else foolish until then.”

Not even waiting for a reply, the man abruptly cut off the feed and the screen fizzled into static. Woojin placed his hands down to steady himself, thankful he had decided to take the call in his office when he slammed his fists off of the desk. He already knew how the conversation would go when he had received the fire message and, from the looks on their faces earlier, Jisung and Changbin knew who had sent him the note as well. It wasn’t something he could help, the look of resignation and distress that would cloud his face when his father would finally decide to contact him after so many weeks, just to belittle and degrade him about how he was doing such a poor job in running the Institute, even if he knew he was doing rather well. 

That wasn’t just his own opinion but actual statistics that showed the amount of casualties due to demon attacks in the last six months since he had taken command had decreased substantially, even if the overall rate of attacks had increased. Relations with the heads of the Downworld leaders had improved since Woojin was actually rather close with some of them. Everyone in the Institute followed his orders well and they trusted him because he was always there to listen to their concerns and do something about them. He did his job well, even though he never wanted it in the first place. 

Flopping down into his chair, Woojin took his head in his hands, sighing heavily and letting the pent up frustration of never being good enough for his father fall through his teeth. He thought to himself that he really should be used to it at this stage but he couldn’t deny that it hurt to be looked down upon no matter how hard he tried. 

A sudden rap upon his door made Woojin sit up and inhale deeply to calm himself before calling on the visitor to come in. 

“Woojin, there’s been a demon attack. Alleyway in Gangnam. Two wolves down, both still alive at the moment but their wounds are pretty serious,” Yugyeom stated, reading the report off of his tablet. 

This is just what Woojin didn’t need. Not when he was just after being scolded like a child by his father. Then again, he knew it didn’t matter what he wanted, he just had to make sure that this situation was taken care of before it escalated into something more sinister. 

“Does Chan know?” 

Woojin couldn’t help himself when he laughed morosely as Yugyeom stiffened at the question. Everyone in the Institute had the same reaction whenever the name of the young Werewolf alpha came up but it wasn’t because of something simple like his fearsome reputation. No, the reason was because of Woojin himself. 

“Yes. He contacted us a short while ago. He requested that you call a meeting with the other leaders to discuss the increase in demonic activity and what you’re going to do about it.” 

“Funny, he didn’t call to ask me himself.” 

Yugyeom shrugged his shoulders, an action that basically said ‘I don’t know what to tell you’ but both of them knew exactly why Chan hadn’t called Woojin directly. 

“Alright. Can you make contact with the others and ask them to come here as soon as possible? I don’t want to put this off any longer than we have to. Let’s not make Chan wait,” Woojin continued, getting up from his desk and grabbing his jacket. 

As Yugyeom was beginning to leave the room, he was sure that he wasn’t supposed to hear Woojin quietly mumbling, “I don’t want to give him another reason to hate me more than he already does.” 


	5. Desiderium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. Not sure when I will be able to update next week. I'm going on vacation but I'll do my utmost to get something up for you. Anyways, this chapter is a bit of an information dump but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless!

The rest of the Institute was just as grand as what Seungmin had seen already. From the bedroom he had been in earlier,  _ his  _ bedroom, he expected all of the rooms to be rather old fashioned and antiquated but as they made their way to the dining hall, he noticed how amazing and contemporary the place was. Looking into one room where the walls were made out of glass, he noticed a few other Shadowhunters that seemed to be working, clipboards and tablets in hand as they tapped on opaque screens that looked to be far more advanced than anything he had seen in the Mundane world before. He wondered how many more surprises would await him in this new life that he was considering leading with great thought.

“Hey, Jisung, can you drop that sightings report on my desk as soon as possible?” 

“You got it, Dahyun,” Jisung chirped with finger guns as the woman with lilac hair smiled at him and walked off. “Yeah, I totally did not write that yet.” 

“Are you always this conscientious with your work?” Seungmin laughed as he sat down at one of the tables with the other two young men. 

“The most diligent and dedicated of Shadowhunters,” Changbin replied with a mocking tone.

“You know, this was one thing I completely forgot about because I was so excited to get you back, Minnie but you and Bin used to constantly gang up on me and just insult me to try and piss me off. What’s worse? It’s fucking working!” 

“I thought so. I felt it in my bones that this is something I was really proficient in doing,” giggled Seungmin as he slung his arm around Jisung’s shoulder as an apology for his playful teasing, coupling it with a compliment about how beautifully he had decorated the dining hall. 

Jisung had been right though, he was pretty impressed with how the place was adorned with so many decorations. Bunting lined the high ceiling with dazzling, multicoloured tinsel wrapped around it. There was a rather sizeable tree in the corner of the room, boasting brilliant lights of every possible colour. Glittering baubles hung from the sconces as the candles illuminated the room. It was homely, it was welcoming and Seungmin felt awfully comfortable in the room filled with numerous people enjoying their breakfast. 

That relaxed feeling seemed to evaporate once he noticed those people now staring at him as the hall went quiet. Jisung and Changbin didn’t seem to notice straight away, too caught up in their conversation but Seungmin definitely did. Muttered whispers and questions he couldn’t make out surrounded him and it most certainly did not make him feel at ease. While he had been welcomed with open arms by Woojin, Changbin and Jisung, he figured that he, the mysterious, lost Shadowhunter without a memory that had come waltzing back into the Institute, would be a hot topic of conversation. Maybe not everyone was as thrilled as his three new, or old, friends were about him returning. Or perhaps they were just curious to see if the rumours about him coming back from the dead were true. 

Noticing him squirming in his seat, Changbin interrupted Jisung as he continued to prattle on and made a motion to stand. Jumping on top of the table, he clapped his hands loudly to gather everyone’s attention and stop them speculating who this newcomer was. 

“None of you have the least bit of subtlety! Like a gaggle of old ladies gossiping on the street corner. Yes, this is Kim Seungmin, Eunyeong and Minjoon’s son. He was involved in the Christmas Eve incident ten years ago, badly injured and lost his memories, so he’s been living his life as a Mundane. We ran his DNA through our system and we’ve confirmed it’s him. He shall be staying here for however long he likes and we’re going to help him adjust. So, stop mumbling around us, it’s irritating and mind your own goddamn business!” 

Plopping back down into his seat, Changbin let go an agitated breath before he looked up to see the younger two men staring back at him with wide eyes and mouths agape. 

“Well, look at you taking the reins of leadership when Wooj isn’t here. Nicely done, Bin,” Jisung complimented as he held out his hand for a high five, which Changbin eventually returned. 

“They were starting to piss me off.” 

It seemed as if Changbin’s outburst did the trick as everyone turned back around to face each other, continuing their earlier conversations and eating their meal. 

“Anyways, Seungmin, what do you want to eat? I’ll go and get it for you.” 

“Well, what do you have?” 

“Um, for Christmas, they usually put out a full spread. Bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, cereal, danishes, fruit-”

“Yes. All of that, please.”

Changbin stood frozen for a moment before chortling rather loudly, the echoes bouncing off of the walls of the hall. The noise once again drew the attention of those around them for a split second but it looked like they were used to Jisung and Changbin’s loud antics as they immediately turned back around in their seats. 

“Damn, Seungmin, all right. I may have to make a few trips though. They’re gonna think I’m trying to feed ten people.” 

“Oh, Bin, I would like-”

“You’re legs work perfectly fine, Sungie. I’m not your slave. You can get your own when I’m back.” 

Scrunching up his nose, Jisung childishly stuck his tongue out at Changbin’s back as the young man walked towards the kitchen, apparently not brave enough to do it to his face. Seungmin felt that Jisung had a courage that ran deep in his soul when involved in dangerous matters, when others people’s lives depended on him but, apparently, when dealing with the threat of what Changbin and Woojin would do to him if he was too cheeky, it did not transfer over.

“So, Jisung- sorry...Sungie. You ready to answer a few more questions?”

“Always willing and ready, Minnie!”

Knowing that he had to be careful with his questions since Jisung could get a tad too excited and end up going on a tangent that had nothing to do with what he wanted to know, Seungmin took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. 

“Did that demon really poison me?” he asked as he swiveled around to get a better look at Jisung. 

“Yeah, it did. You were really lucky we found you in time. It could have been a lot worse. It was a Nimh demon, a new breed that has surfaced recently but we luckily had a sample of its poison on file and made an antidote to it. Wooj gave it to you when you arrived. It apparently has only attacked Shadowhunters in the past which is another reason we knew that you weren’t a Mundane.”   


Clutching his stomach as it grumbled loudly at the end of Jisung’s explanation, Seungmin smiled apologetically before nodding. 

“So there are different types of demons then?”

“Yup. Different ones that do different things. Most of them have low intelligence but there are what we call Greater Demons who have the same amount of intellect as we do and hold a lot more power. They are often the rulers of Edom, which, I suppose, is what most Mundanes would think of as the underworld. They rarely venture up here but when they do, they stir up a shit load of trouble.” 

Seungmin really shouldn’t be surprised that somewhere like that existed, especially after joking about the three young men being the police of the underworld earlier but it still shocked him that there was a whole world, not situated on earth, that was filled with immeasurable danger. 

“Right but why did that demon attack me? It knew about me before you guys did.” 

“I wish I could tell you, Minnie. Nimh’s are scarce since they’ve only surfaced recently and we haven’t really gotten a lot of details on the way they behave just yet. When we do though, I’ll let you know.” 

Changbin took this moment to arrive with the first of what he decided to bring back. A plate full of golden pancakes topped with berry compote was placed in front of Seungmin along with bacon and scrambled eggs. In the beginning, Seungmin had only been joking when he said he wanted everything that was on offer to eat but when he eyed all of the food placed in front of him, he thought that he really was hungry enough that he could scoff this all down. He thanked Changbin quickly before picking up his fork and knife to cut into the velvety pancakes. 

From the corner of his eye, Changbin could see Jisung gazing longingly at the meal, knowing he would have to wait a few more moments for Changbin to make another trip or two to retrieve the rest of the food. With a slight chuckle, he placed the final plate he carried back in front of the mousy haired young man, his smile growing when Jisung looked up at him with wide eyes after seeing the pancakes smothered in honey being dropped in front of him. Changbin knew exactly how the younger liked them and how hard it was for him to sit still when it came to food. 

“I’m far too soft on you. Do you know that?”

“I do. Thank you, Binnie.” 

“No problem, Sungie,” he beamed with a wink as he patted Jisung’s head.

Changbin knew that the young man deserved to be praised a little after last night. It was always something that made Jisung feel more at ease, to know that he was doing a good job and, if it wasn’t for him, Changbin was sure that they never would have gotten Seungmin back. His stubborn personality was something that usually drove Changbin up the wall but because of it, one of their best friends that they thought lost was sitting beside them, sharing a meal with a smile. 

“I’ll be back. Gotta get more food. I already got really weird looks from Younghoon. He’s gonna think I’m a monster now,” Changbin sighed before turning on his heel and heading back the way he came. 

“Well, what do you think of our ‘supernatural’ food?” Jisung teased with his mouth full, nearly suffocating on laughter when he saw the red tint climbing its way up the other’s neck. Seungmin quickly shot back with the middle finger and swallowed his food before hitting Jisung sharply between the shoulder blades to dislodge the pancakes that he was currently choking on. 

“These runes,” Seungmin started as he held up his hand in front of Jisung, “There are a lot of them?” 

Jisung hummed in confirmation as he sipped at his water, looking like he was more than prepared to talk about the marks that covered his skin. 

“Yup, there are quite a few. A lot of them have their uses in battle, like these ones.” 

Jisung lifted his shirt a little to point at two black marks that were situated on his stomach. “This one is for power and this is for stealth.” Dropping his top back down, he gestured to one on his right arm. “This is the  _ Iratze  _ rune which helps with healing a lot of injuries, especially in the battlefield when we can’t apply immediate medical treatment.” 

Without meaning to, Seungmin leant forward and traced the rune with his fingertips, marvelling at the beautifully strange mark, not noticing Jisung grinning at him with a fond look in his eye. 

“Oh! And  _ this _ is my  _ Parabatai  _ rune that I share with Binnie.”

Wrinkling his brow at the strange phrase, Seungmin tried to mouth out the word but failed after his third attempt.

“Par-a-what?” 

“ _ Parabatai.  _ It is a rune that joins two people together as lifelong partners that are willing to give up their lives for one another. It’s actually quite rare for Shadowhunters to bond as  _ Parabatai. _ Most don’t have one. It’s essentially a soulmate link.” 

That surprised Seungmin quite a lot. While he knew that Jisung and Changbin were rather close, he didn’t expect a relationship like that to exist between them. He thought they were simply extremely close friends but apparently, from Jisung’s explanation, he had been wrong.

“Oh. Partners? So, you and Changbin are…?” 

Jisung tilted his head a little with a confused pout before what Seungmin had been alluding to hit him like a ton of bricks and a look of pure and unmatched shock forced his mouth open to quickly clear up the misunderstanding. 

“What?! Oh my god, no!” Jisung screamed as he covered his mouth and began to wretch mockingly. “Minnie, please don’t  _ ever  _ insinuate something like that again! It is a rune that joins friends, those we consider brothers or sisters and would gladly walk through life with but not in  _ that  _ way. We live together, fight together, draw on each other’s strength during battle and can even track each other if we were to go missing. It’s very handy to be sure. It’s so strong that if one of us were to die, the other would feel pain like no other at the moment of their death, like they were dying too.”

While the thought of being tied to one of your best friends, drawing off of their strength to help you in your darkest times, seemed like an amazing experience, Seungmin thought that those who had to go through losing their  _ Parabatai _ would have been inconsolable. The pain they must have experienced at basically losing someone who was a part of their soul was surely unimaginable. 

“Besides, it’s actually against the Law to be romantically tied to your  _ Parabatai  _ anyways. The reason for it? Nobody is too sure; it’s just always been that way. Strictly platonic but a very strong bond. It’s unlike anything else to be joined to someone like this. Ah, the thoughts of me and Bin…eww!”

  
Seungmin apologised profusely as Jisung continued to squirm in his seat, though it didn’t take too long before he was picking at his food again. 

“Do you have a  _ Parabatai  _ rune with Woojin too?”

“No. Each Shadowhunter can only choose one  _ Parabatai  _ in their lifetime and the ritual cannot be performed more than once. You must choose before you’re eighteen and after that, the ritual is no longer open to you. Binnie and I talked about it a lot but Woojin knew that we were meant to be  _ Parabatai _ . He said so himself.” 

It didn’t matter if Woojin wasn’t joined to them with a rune; Seungmin could already tell that the elder would give up his life for his two friends without hesitation and he knew that Jisung and Changbin would do the same for him too. He wondered if he too would reach that level of complete trust and intimacy with them. 

“That’s really interesting. If you have any books or documents on runes, I’d love to learn more about their uses”

Without a second’s hesitation, Jisung signed an ‘ok’ with his fingers, seemingly already preparing to teach Seungmin about all of the runes that were available to Shadowhunters. 

“Do you guys have families?” Seungmin questioned as he finished the pancakes and moved onto the other food that Changbin had brought back for him. “It’s obvious that the three of you are really close with each other and you treat one other like brothers but your parents or siblings, are they around?” 

Jisung moved his hand from side to side, obviously miming that what Seungmin had asked was only about half of the truth. 

“None of us have any siblings, I think that’s why we’re all so close with one another,” Jisung explained with a shrug. “As far as parents go, Wooj’s father is one of the members of the Clave in Alicante. You remember when we told you about all of that?” 

Seungmin nodded hastily, urging Jisung to continue. It was a strange concept, having a whole other ruling authority with which he was not familiar but Seungmin figured, from the way that all of them spoke about Mundanes, not even their government knew anything about the Shadow world. 

“Yeah, quick comment on that guy, he’s a prick. A giant and utterly selfish bastard. He used to be the head of this Institute before he went to Alicante and Wooj took over. Nobody likes him but Changbin and I really,  _ really  _ hate him. He treats Wooj so badly, no matter how hard he tries. Constantly deriding and criticizing him. Wooj works so damn hard but he’s just never good enough for that son of a bitch. So, if he talks to you at some point, be as rude to him as you possibly can.”

Not that he wanted to be ill mannered towards the hierarchy of the Shadowhunter world at the very beginning, but if someone had hurt Woojin, even someone like his father, Seungmin wouldn’t hesitate to be the most childish, arrogant, patronising asshole he could be if he ever came up against them. Woojin was far too caring and kind to ever be treated with such insensitivity. 

“His mother died in childbirth. Apparently, she was a really sweet woman but none of us ever got to meet her since Wooj is the eldest. She was sick beforehand and it was just too much for her body to handle. Perhaps that’s why his father seems to hate him so much, even though that’s not an excuse. Wooj never knew her and I think that weighs on him a little. His father never really talked about her either. He had to go off of what other people around the Institute would tell him.”   


While Seungmin couldn’t remember his parents, it was obvious from the way the others talked about them that they were all a big, happy family before disaster struck. However, Woojin never knew his mother and his father seemed to hate him for no apparent reason. In the end, Seungmin wondered if it was better to have no memories of a loving family or still have one that didn’t take the time to care for him. He figured that he was in the better position in the end. 

“Changbin’s mom is stationed at the Tokyo Institute at the moment. Her name’s Areum and she’s really like a mom to all of us. She comes back as often as she can to see us. You used to love her too and she you. When she hears the news that you’re back, I’m sure she’ll return here as soon as she can,” Jisung winked, already vibrating with excitement at the thought of seeing the woman who obviously cared for all of them greatly. 

“His dad died in a demon attack about seven years ago. He fought really well but there was just too many of them according to the reports of the survivors. Apparently, he died protecting two young Shadowhunters who were out on their first mission. Bin and his mom were super proud of him, even if they were heartbroken that they would never see him again. He was a good man.”

Seungmin’s idea that this world was amazing but absolutely fraught with danger was becoming more enhanced by Jisung’s information. He had apparently lost his parents in a demon attack and Changbin had lost his father under the same circumstances but both had died protecting what they thought important. Changbin’s father had saved not one but two young lives and Seungmin’s parents, he was sure, saved him. It wasn’t something that he had remembered, just a feeling that had settled in his chest since he had learned how much they loved him. 

“And yours?” 

Jisung stalled for a moment, playing with his fingers before smiling wistfully at Seungmin. 

“Both of mine are gone. They died when I was twelve.”

With a sympathetic frown upon his face, Seungmin gently placed his hand upon Jisung’s shoulder and squeezed lightly. The other young man was in the exact same position as he was but he was thankful that Jisung had the others to help him through, what he imagined was, an unbelievably difficult time. Once he had gotten over the raw pity in his chest, a detail of Jisung’s explanation made his heart sink.    
  


“They died when you were twelve? That was ten years ago. Sungie, were they…?” 

“Yeah, they were involved in the same attack that you were. Their bodies were one of the first brought back to the Institute. They left with you and your parents that night and I wanted to go with them too but they told me to stay here at the Institute because they were going to collect the last of my Christmas gifts. You were teasing me so much, saying that you’d know what my presents were before I did and that you would tell me before I got to open them.” 

_ “See you later, Sungie! I’ll be sure to let you know what toys you’re getting tomorrow.”  _ _   
_

_ _

_ “Minnie, no! That’s no fair! Mom, I wanna come too!”  _

Blinking rapidly as the voices echoed throughout his mind, Seungmin rubbed his hand over his face, feeling a tension build up in his head again. As the horrible sensation made his skin crawl, Seungmin sucked in a breath that must have been audible to Jisung as the other raised his head and shook it slightly with a smile. 

“It was a long time ago, Minnie. I had wonderful people to help me back then, like Changbin’s parents and my friends. I’m not going to lie, it was probably the worst moment of my life, hearing about it because, not only did I lose one of my best friends on that day, I lost my parents too.” 

As Jisung picked up the last piece of pancake on his plate, he felt a pair of arms secure themselves around his middle, seeing Seungmin maneuver himself to rest his head on his shoulder. It was funny that, only a few hours ago, Seungmin had pushed Jisung away when he had initiated their first hug, obviously uncomfortable at the contact but now, he was the one that pulled him close and held him with such tenderness. Jisung was quick to reciprocate, leaving down his cutlery and leaning into the touch. Jisung didn’t want to ruin the moment by speaking but he wanted to tell Seungmin that this used to be a common practice between them, which is why he had lost himself earlier and latched onto the young man. When either of them were feeling down as kids, Jisung made the point that hugs made everything better; that’s what his mom always told him anyways. 

Finally, Seungmin had discerned why it was that it meant so damn much to Jisung that they had found him again. Changbin and Woojin had been excited to have him back with them again too and Seungmin thought that it was simply Jisung’s personality that had him so ecstatic about him finally returning but now, he saw that it was not the only thing contributing to Jisung’s happiness. He had lost three members of his family on that fateful day and to have one of them back must have made a spark ignite within Jisung’s chest, one he thought would stay extinguished forever. 

It was obvious that Jisung never lost hope though. That was clear in the way that he had kept Seungmin’s room safe from being emptied and converted. The way that he was so certain that it was him they had rescued from the monster last night, even if Changbin had not been of the same mindset. The way that Jisung was sure that Seungmin had just been missing and not dead like the higher ups had assumed. The way that, even though Seungmin was not the same person that he had been ten years ago, Jisung was still willing to help him in whatever way possible to make him feel at home. It was likely that this was what kept the young man going all of these years, even though people had probably told him that he was foolish and would only end up torturing himself with a feeling of hope that would never flourish into anything worthwhile.

“Man, it sounded like I was a little shit, threatening to tell you what your Christmas presents were before you got to open them,” Seungmin whined against Jisung’s shoulder, simply eliciting a small giggle but one that Seungmin was happy to be the cause of. 

“It’s ok, Minnie. Most of us were little shits as kids. Maybe some of us still are,” he chuckled as he pulled back and held Seungmin’s face in his hands while wiggling his eyebrows. 

As Jisung let go and turned back around to resume eating, Seungmin caught one of the elder’s hands, causing Jisung to serve him a confused look. 

“Jisung?”

“Yeah?” 

“Thank you.” 

“For what, Minnie?” 

“For not giving up on me. For taking care of my room and possessions when I wasn’t here. For saving me from that monster. For bringing me back to the Institute even though you knew that you’d get into trouble with Woojin. For believing that I was worth searching for and keeping the faith that I was still alive after all of these years. Thank you for giving me my past back. Thank you, for being you and for everything you’ve done.” 

Now that he was staring at Jisung straight on, Seungmin saw how fast his words wriggled they way to the young man’s heart, a glossy sheen coating his eyes before he tilted his head upwards in a futile attempt to stop his tears from falling. 

“Whew, I can’t believe this. How many times have I cried since you got here?” 

“This is only the second, Sungie.” 

“Oh, that’s not so bad. I thought it was more.” 

Chuckling before pulling Jisung into another hug, Seungmin patted the other’s hair a little, feeling lousy that he had been the cause of Jisung’s tears both times today. 

“You kinda make it sound like you really believe me and everything that I’ve told you though,” Jisung sniffed as he dabbed at his eyes with the back of his hands. 

“Yeah, I think I do,” reassured Seungmin as he held Jisung a little tighter. 

“Woah, what the hell did I miss? Sungie, is everything all right?” 

Both young men looked up to see Changbin standing there with another three plates filled with food and a worried grimace upon his face. 

“All good, Bin. Just telling Minnie about my runes.”

It was obvious that Changbin didn’t buy that runes had been their last topic of conversation but he let it slide when he saw how close Seungmin and Jisung were sitting and the content smiles upon both of their faces. 

“Ah, I see. Seungmin, once you get settled here, we could think about starting some training. That is, if you were interested in becoming a fully fledged Shadowhunter.” 

It wasn’t a thought that had crossed Seungmin’s mind in the ruckus of it all but, now that he had returned, he could look into leading the full life of a Shadowhunter, including training with the others, learning how to fight demons and even getting more runes applied to his skin. It was an interesting concept, one that he would definitely consider.

Before being able to give Changbin an answer, he saw the elder beginning to wave at someone behind him, turning around to see Woojin strolling towards them, bidding the other people around them a good morning and Merry Christmas. 

“Hey, Wooj. How did the call go?” Changbin asked with a hint of apprehension as he gestured to the food, which Woojin held his hand up at with an exhausted look in his eyes. 

“Fine. Perfect. Absolutely, fucking fantastic.”

“Wow, that does sound good. Your father is always a pleasure,” Jisung snorted as he downed the glass of water in his hand. 

“Sure is. Anyways, emergency meeting in thirty minutes, I want the both of you there.”

“Aww, Wooj, come on, I just got my breakfast!” Changbin whined as he gestured to the croissant in his hands. 

“Sorry, Bin. Two wolves were attacked downtown and are in a critical condition. Chan asked for a conference with the others to discuss how to deal with it.”   


A small ‘oh, shit’ left Changbin’s lips before he stuffed the pastry in his mouth and began to stand up from his seat, gesturing for Jisung to do the same, leaving Seungmin to look a little confused at what was happening. Noticing the redhead still in his seat, Jisung smiled before grabbing his hand and pulling him upwards. 

  
“Wooj, can Minnie come too?”   


“I don’t know, Jisung.”

His tone indicated to Seungmin that Woojin wasn’t worried about him being a problem but, rather, that Seungmin may become overwhelmed by being involved in something like that so soon. While Seungmin was indeed already tired again after eating so much food, he couldn’t help but become interested at the thought of seeing all the Downworld leaders in one room. Seungmin also considered the thought that maybe the Downworld leaders wouldn’t be all that happy about an unfamiliar face intruding on such an important meeting.

“I’ll sit with him. Just to observe what a meeting like this is like with the others. I could explain what’s going on. I think it would be good for him, Wooj.”

“Would you be ok with that, Seungmin?” 

Not quite knowing what to expect from this impromptu meeting, Seungmin nodded his head slowly, an intrigued look in his eye.

“Ok, fair enough. Get him a shower and change of clothes. I’ll see you in the briefing room in thirty minutes. Please don’t be late.  _ Jisung, _ ” Woojin warned with narrowed eyes before walking off, with Changbin following him shortly after. 

“Minnie, you can use my bathroom for the time being. Come on, I’ll give you some clothes too.” 

As they walked back towards the dorms, Seungmin began to think that this meeting would be an experience and he was rather excited to be a part of it but he never realised in that moment how much it would actually change the course of events for both him and his friends. 


	6. Exordium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you should find mistakes in the chapter, you guys can let me know. Don’t have my laptop with me this week to upload, so please be gentle!

Seungmin honestly never realised how good a shower could actually feel. Standing beneath the flow of water, the young man felt a river of tension flow down the drain. Relaxing his shoulders, he took a few deep breaths before turning the faucet off and stepping out to put on the clothes that Jisung had laid out for him. It wasn’t something he would have usually worn: a dark blue tank top, cropped leather jacket, ripped black jeans and sneakers. He was rather glad that he was around the same size as Jisung, though the jeans were just a tad too big; he was doing the best with what he was given. 

“Minnie, are you ready? We should get going if we want to be on time.”

Stepping out of the bathroom, Seungmin gave Jisung two thumbs up as the elder whistled lowly. 

“Well, look at you. You scrub up well. Look like a real Shadowhunter now. Minus the weapons but we’re not going to give you any just yet. You might hurt yourself,” Jisung teased, earning himself a disbelieving huff as Seungmin rolled his eyes. 

Barely a minute later, both were out the door and heading towards their destination. They found Changbin and Woojin in the hallway in front of the conference room, both standing silently with a slight tension flowing around them. It only seemed to break when Changbin laid eyes on Seungmin and his new look.

“Seungmin, you are not allowed to leave this place. Ever. I’ve never seen Sungie be on time for something before. You’re obviously a good influence.” 

Changbin managed to dodge the punch that came flying towards him, grabbing onto Jisung’s wrist and pulling him close to his face, barely an inch apart, a triumphant smirk falling upon the elder’s lips. The action didn’t go unnoticed by Woojin who huffed audibly and threw them a glare. 

“Can you two knock it off? Stop acting like a bunch of two year olds and try to be on your best behaviour when the others get here, please.” 

Immediately straightening themselves and ceasing their very abrupt quarrel, both of them apologised before Changbin moved to fall beside Woojin and Jisung returned to Seungmin. Getting the feeling that they didn’t stop their fighting because he was their leader but rather because they knew Woojin was probably overly stressed and decided not to make it worse for their friend, Seungmin was thankful that neither Changbin or Jisung were childish enough to ignore Woojin when he was clearly going through it because it bothered Seungmin slightly, how much Woojin had changed in the time that he had left them earlier on in the day. 

From what the other three had said while at breakfast, Seungmin pieced together that Woojin had received a call from his father about something and since then, it looked like the weight of the world had been placed upon his shoulders. Having such a negative effect on his mood, Seungmin felt that Jisung hadn’t been overreacting when he had cursed Woojin’s father out earlier. If he could help it, he would rather not come up against the man because he was sure he wouldn’t be able to hold his tongue on the subject of being kinder to his son, even if it wasn’t his place. 

The door to the hallway suddenly creaked open, revealing a very extravagantly dressed young man with jubilant bounce in his step. A head of glittering, blue hair swayed as he walked and fell over deep, brown eyes. His crisp, white shirt was tucked into dark, leather pants and accompanied by a knee length, embroidered velvet jacket. Jewellery covered every part of the man’s body; his fingers, ears and neck were embellished with remarkable gems. Nothing he wore compared to his smile though. It was stunning and made his eyes crinkle up which only made him more ethereal.

“My, my, calling us all out here so early in the morning, Wooj? Just hope I don’t turn you into some tiny rodent for interrupting my beauty sleep.”

“You wouldn’t do that to an old friend, would you, Minho?” 

“You know I would. Especially to you.”

Woojin punched the young man on the shoulder before pulling him in for a hug which was immediately returned. Picking up the pendant around the other’s neck, Woojin whistled before commenting that the piece looked like it cost more than a house, which the other young man didn’t disagree with. 

“That is...Lee Minho. He’s High Warlock of Seoul,” Jisung commented, quickly shaking Seungmin from his thoughts and making him tear his gaze away from the breathtaking man. “Pretty much all of the Warlocks in the area look to him for guidance. They all took a vote and appointed him to the position about fifteen years ago. He’s actually a really close friend of ours and helps out whenever we need someone with magical abilities.” 

Humming in understanding as he played with the zip on his jacket, Seungmin slowly took in everything that Jisung had just explained, zoning in on a few details that needed to be fleshed out for him. 

“Ok, I have a few questions.”

“Shoot,” Jisung encouraged. 

“Are Warlocks like what I think they are? They use magic, make potions and stuff, summon different creatures from time to time?”

“You pretty much hit the nail on the head there. What Mundanes know about Warlocks is more or less true. That could be because Warlocks tend not to be the most humble of people and made their presence known in a very subtle way throughout history.”

If there was one word that Seungmin wouldn’t use to describe Minho based solely on how he was dressed, it would be subtle but he simply leaned against the wall with a small ‘I see’ before moving onto his next question.

“He got the job of High Warlock fifteen years ago? What was he, like, ten?”

With a small giggle, Jisung shook his head as he took his chin between his thumb and finger to debate what would be the best way to form his answer. 

“Warlocks tend to age a lot slower than we do. They usually have a lifetime that lasts about three hundred years or so.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, he may not look it but Minho is about seventy years old at the moment. They usually stop aging around their twenties before they get into their last fifty years of life and start aging normally again.” 

“Holy shit.” 

“Tell me about it. Lucky bastards. It’s the demon blood in them. It’s what gives them their magical abilities too.”

That surprised Seungmin, enough for him to whip his head around to stare at Jisung with a look that urged him to continue his explanation. 

“A Warlock is the offspring of a demon and a human, usually a Mundane. Though, more often than not, it isn’t through an act of consent. Usually a result of trickery or force. Minho’s father is a Greater Demon, who he has never met since he returned to Edom all those years ago and his mother was a human, that has since passed.”

Seungmin couldn’t help it as his mouth hung agape at Jisung’s summary, amazed at something like that actually being feasible. He didn’t think it was possible to have demon blood and to look so normal, like a human but, in Seungmin’s opinion, Minho’s looks were more angelic than demonic. 

“Yeah, so, Minho lives a hell of a lot longer than we do. Plus, if Warlocks find a partner that isn’t another Warlock or an immortal, they can actually share their life force with them. Just so that they can live a full life together. The years of a Warlock’s life would decrease as they shared it with the other person, so they would have the same number of years to live together, give or take.”

That seemed awfully sweet in Seungmin’s opinion, giving up the extra time you had been bestowed in life, just so you could spend time with the one you loved. 

“Ok, I have one more question,” Seungmin began carefully, trying to decide if he should coat his words with a jesting tone when he directed the question at Jisung. “What was that little pause earlier, before you said his name?” 

Jisung looked as if Seungmin had just slapped him across the face before telling him that Santa Claus wasn’t real. It was only supposed to be a bit of a joke but Seungmin actually began to worry about the reaction that the slightly older man had given him. 

“Pause? There was no pause. Probably just had something caught in my throat,” he coughed, as if trying to prove his point. 

Seeing Jisung’s begin to shake as he turned back around, Seungmin felt like he really shouldn’t press the subject. It was becoming more and more clear to him that Jisung was a very emotional person, obvious from the way he got so excited about things, only to be crying about something else two seconds later. But this time, Seungmin felt like if he were to continue questioning Jisung about the stutter in his words, he may cross a line that went a step too far. 

“Oh...alright. So, does Minho have a partner that he wants to share his life with yet?” Seungmin inquired, trying to be as discreet as possible in veiling his real interest as an innocent question.

A small scoff from his left made Seungmin snap his head towards the sound to see Changbin leaning against the wall beside him with his arms crossed lazily over his chest. It made Seungmin jump a little since he never even heard the elder creep up on him. 

“Minho? Settle down with someone? The day that happens is the day I sprout wings and fly away. Lee Minho is the biggest playboy in the history of the world. He’s never technically ‘with’ someone, only bringing people home he met in some skeezy bar or calling old hook ups on nights he’s particularly lonely. Even if you see him with someone on his arm, they’re just a pretty little accessory to show off. They mean nothing to him and I’m sure the feeling isn’t always mutual. In the time that we’ve known him, he’s never been in a serious relationship.”

Feeling a little startled at Changbin’s explanation, Seungmin once again glanced at Minho, wondering how he could have such a feeling of apathy when it came to wanting to find someone to spend his life with. Wasn’t that what everyone wanted? To find someone that fit with you so perfectly? To find a possible soulmate? According to Changbin, apparently not.

“I mean, we love him, don’t get me wrong, he’s a really great friend but he just can’t seem to break this lifestyle he has going on, never having one single thought of initiating a romantic relationship that would last and actually develop into something more. Anyone who is stupid enough to play along with his games really gets no sympathy from me though. Minho lets all of them know exactly what they’re getting into before they begin their...whatever you want to call it.” 

Knowing there were plenty of people like that in the world, Seungmin nodded his head in understanding at Changbin’s explanation. As Minho continued to talk to Woojin, Seungmin could understand why any guy or girl would simply want the chance to hang out with him, let alone _ be _ with him. Everything about the Warlock oozed elegance, a strong aura of beauty exuding from his presence. It sounded like he had a golden personality as a person too but Seungmin would never be able to only be seen as a way to pass the time to someone before another came along to take his place. He didn’t judge Minho for that; it was his life and Seungmin was hardly in any position to tell him how to live it. 

And he really would have completely dropped the whole topic in his head if he didn’t notice the way Jisung’s eyes were rigidly set on the ground, lip firmly set between his teeth. With his fingers circling each other, Jisung’s shoulders were tensed as he unknowingly curled in on himself, showing a vulnerability that Seungmin didn’t like one damn bit. Reaching out his hand to take Jisung’s in his own made the elder jump slightly before slapping a _ very _fake smile on his face and turning back around to see both Woojin and Minho staring at the red headed young man beside him. 

“Who’s the new kid? Why does his energy seem so familiar?”

“That, Minho, is Seungmin,” Woojin gushed with pride as he threw the redhead a wink and a smile. 

“Seungmin? Why do I know that name? Wait...Seungmin? As in, _ Seungmin _? You found him?! What the fuck, you guys?! That literally should have been the very first thing you said to me when I walked through the door, you assholes!” 

Wondering why his name had evoked such a reaction within Minho, Seungmin tilted his head a little at Woojin before his hands were being taken by the Warlock, with that sensational smile making its appearance once again. 

“Oh my gosh, look at you! You’re so grown up! Do you remember me?”

“Actually, Min, he doesn’t remember anything,” Jisung admitted, averting his gaze when the other looked at him straight on, only making Seungmin worry about Jisung all the more but it seemed Minho wasn’t all that perturbed by the reaction the younger had given him. 

“He lost all of his memories in the accident, Minho. Doesn’t remember anything about the Shadow world but we ran his DNA and confirmed it’s him. We’re going to help him readjust and really, we’re just happy to have him back,” Changbin beamed, getting an elongated ‘ah’ from the elder.

“That’s why you didn’t come back or contact us? We thought we had lost you for good. Oh, you poor thing,” Minho pouted as he rubbed Seungmin’s arm gently. “We used to be great friends, you and me.” 

Seungmin admitted that he was quite surprised at his popularity as a child, seeing as that most certainly didn’t continue into his adult years. He also didn’t think that Minho would have been the type of person that he would have been friendly with but he was sticking to the stereotype of ostentatious people being too pompous and narcissistic to form meaningful relationships but he had just met Minho and that was unfair. Plus, Changbin had already mentioned that he was a great friend to them. 

“We were?”

“Yeah, I used to come to the Institute all the time and you would jump into my arms before I even came through the door. Each and every time, you wouldn’t even say hello to me before you shouted-”

“Fireworks.” 

All eyes darted to Seungmin as the word left his mouth. He hadn’t even registered that he said it, wondering where it even came out of but it seemed that the simple word evoked an abundance of joy in everyone around him. 

“Minnie, how did you know that?” Jisung gasped, eyes darting between Seungmin and Minho with a slight grin. 

_ “Fireworks! Min, show me the fireworks! Please, please, please!” _

_ “All right, Seungminnie, calm down.” _

“I don’t know, it just slipped out without me knowing why. I could hear myself saying it to him,” Seungmin hesitated, frowning at the whispers that echoed in his head. 

“Well, that’s exactly what you would say to me,” Minho chimed with an impish grin. “I seemed to have jogged something within your memories. How about I see if this helps you remember anything else.” 

Before Seungmin could even ask what he meant, Minho pulled his sleeves up, moving back a few steps and placing his hands in front of himself. Swirls of light danced around his fingers before a crinkling sound filled the air. Minho’s hands shot up before literal fireworks burst from his fingertips and exploded as they hit off of the roof, causing the sparks of golden light to descend like a waterfall back towards those standing beneath them. 

It was astonishing, the beauty of it all and Seungmin’s breath was stolen from his chest at the sight of it. Feeling a smile forming on his face, Seungmin followed the fireworks as they fell upon Minho, seeing the elder man wink at him as he marvelled at his display. 

“Showing off again, Minho? Don’t you think the way you dress and your dazzling personality draws enough attention to you?”

The voice carried through the room, a tone of undeniable authority hidden within it, which caused Seungmin to stand alert without him telling his body to do so. As he looked to the door where the voice stemmed from, Seungmin noticed two men standing there, the one who looked to be the elder of the two striding proudly towards the rest of them, with the other cowering slightly behind. 

“It’s not my fault that everyone I meet loves me so, Chan. You know that I can never have enough attention on me.” 

“Oh, believe me, Minho, I know,” Chan quipped. 

Silver hair with golden chains interwoven through it on the left side looked soft to the touch and was accompanied with shocking, cerulean eyes. Seungmin had never seen anyone like him before, even amongst the otherworldly creatures he had encountered throughout his life. Dressed from head to toe in black, Chan held a different sort of air compared to Minho. Whilst the Warlock was animated and vibrant, Chan seemed to be more modest and restrained. 

The air in the room suddenly hit a new low when Woojin and Chan finally locked eyes and Seungmin was certain that he didn’t imagine everyone else apparently finding something super interesting to examine on the walls around them so that they didn’t have to watch the interaction. 

“Chan.”

“Woojin. I appreciate that you called the meeting so quickly. I’m sure you realise I need to get to the bottom of this as fast as possible. Two members of my pack are in critical condition and I won’t stand by and keep quiet when we could be doing something about it.” 

The coldness in Chan’s tone and the way he phrased his words made Seungmin’s hairs stand on end, the tension surrounding all of them making him feel like he was suffocating. There was something there, between Chan and Woojin but the room had fallen so quiet that Seungmin couldn’t ask Jisung or Changbin about it without being awfully obvious and run the risk of being heard. 

However, something else did catch his attention. The way that Chan had mentioned the word ‘pack’ made him quickly figure out that he must be the Werewolf leader that had been called to the meeting if what he knew about the supernatural creatures was true. He wished to know more about him but Woojin spoke up before he could think any further on the subject. 

“Don’t worry about it. Just doing my job. I see you’ve got a shadow,” Woojin hummed trying to lift the mood as he pointed his chin towards the young man currently holding onto the end of Chan’s jacket and keeping his head down. 

While he shared the same eye colour as Chan, the other sported a mop of ruffled, sandy hair instead. He looked nervous, like if Chan wasn’t there, he would run straight back out the door. His clothes also made him look smaller than he probably was, hiding under a large, pink hoodie and skinny jeans. 

“This is Jeongin. He joined my pack a few months ago. Innie, you need to greet them.”

Jeongin finally raised his head, letting Seungmin truly marvel in the deepness of his eyes that held an entire ocean within them. 

“Hello, I’m Yang Jeongin. It’s nice to meet all of you,” Jeongin mumbled, obviously not having the confidence to say it with more gusto. 

Huffing with a smile on his face, Chan turned around before gently running his fingers through the other’s hair, whispering a ‘come on, pup, you can’t cower behind me the whole time’, a completely different person from when he had interacted with Woojin a moment ago. The relationship between the two seemed to be strong, noticeable by the way Jeongin seemed to relax under Chan’s touch and stand a little taller beside him. 

Chan’s gaze momentarily directed itself towards Jisung and Changbin, with the Werewolf giving them a small smile as a greeting, which was returned tenfold by the two younger men. Seungmin then made the distinction between the way Chan treated Woojin and everyone else in the room. It wasn’t because Woojin was a Shadowhunter or else he would have been distant when it came to Jisung and Changbin as well. Finally feeling the set of eyes fall upon him, Seungmin stared straight at Chan, unable to break the gaze but he felt the same sort of safety that he had experienced the moment he had met Woojin, like Chan would protect him without a second thought, which was only strengthened when Chan smiled politely at him. 

“And why has he come along with you today, Chan?” inquired Minho, taking the lead when he saw Woojin begin to lose himself a little as he gazed over Chan’s form. 

“I’ve brought him along so that he can see what these meetings are like. After a few more, he’ll attend them in my stead. There’s really no reason for me to come to the Institute anymore,” Chan replied simply but Seungmin didn’t miss it, the way his eyes shot to Woojin for a nanosecond before hurriedly moving away again. 

Minho obviously didn’t miss it either as he patted Woojin’s arm before moving over to greet Jeongin properly. After doing so, he told Woojin that the three of them would wait in the conference room for the others to arrive and that he would see him soon, delicately running his thumb across Woojin’s knuckles before walking into the room as he was followed by Chan and Jeongin. Not even a final glance was exchanged between the Werewolf and Shadowhunter as they parted ways, both sets of eyes remaining firmly on the ground before the door clicked closed. 

“Uh, Bin, I’m just gonna run to the bathroom for a second. If the others arrive before I return, just greet them and tell them I’ll be back really soon, ok?”

“Sure, Wooj.”

Without making eye contact, Woojin hurriedly exited the room and maybe Seungmin imagined it but he was pretty certain that he heard a hitch in the elder’s breath before he made his way down the hall. 

Seungmin didn’t know if he should ask, if it was something that wasn’t supposed to be talked about but when he heard Jisung exhale dramatically, he figured he would be getting an explanation without having to ask for one. 

“This strain between them is getting unbearable. Why is it like this?” 

“Um, if I’m crossing a line, I’m sorry but do you guys mind explaining what that was about? The feeling of unease in here was crazy,” Seungmin whispered, almost afraid that either Woojin or Chan would hear him talking about what was obviously their business and come for him. 

“Chan and Wooj used to be...a thing. No, that’s a poor way to put it. Woojin and Chan were mates. They were together for over two years and Chan was here a lot of the time. We all became really close,” explained Jisung, his lips turning upwards momentarily as he reminisced on what were obviously good memories before his face returned to a wearied scowl. “Then, about seven months ago, Woojin ended it. None of us know why and we’ve tried asking about it. He always replies that he just got tired of their relationship and wanted to move on, which we all know is bullshit because-”

“They were so damn happy together,” Changbin interjected but it was obvious that he didn’t hold the same uncertainty within himself that Jisung did. Rather, he looked enraged, like he was trying with all of his might not to scream, making Seungmin think that he knew some very important details about Woojin and Chan’s parting but, also, that he would not be divulging that information in this moment. 

“As you saw earlier, it wasn’t a very clean break up. Again, none of us know the details but Chan wouldn’t act this way unless Wooj said or did something cruel but we _ also _ know that he would never do that to anyone, let alone Chan. It’s so frustrating, they’re both our friends and to see them hurting like this is just…” Jisung trailed off, tears of irritation welling up in his eyes. 

Even in a world full of magic and the supernatural, people like Woojin, someone who held so much strength and reliability within himself, could not escape the harsh problems that life would inevitably throw at him. 

“Chan doesn’t come around anymore unless it’s for meetings and that’s only because he has to. As you probably already guessed, he’s a Werewolf, as is Jeongin it seems. This is our first time meeting the kid but you can tell by the colour of their eyes.” 

Seungmin’s gaze followed Changbin as the elder gestured to his own eyes, the dark irises showing a stark contrast to the ice blue eyes he had seen on their two guests moments ago. 

“I see. Are relationships between Shadowhunters and Downworlders common?” Seungmin asked, genuinely interested in all of the new information he was being fed. 

“They’re not particularly common but they’re not unheard of either. Some people have a, for lack of a better word, ‘aversion’ to the idea,” Changbin scoffed. “There are those that think that the bloodline of Shadowhunters should be kept pure, not mixing with Downworlders, which is pure crap. You love who you love, right?”

Now that was something that Seungmin could definitely agree on. Nothing like that should ever stand in the way of two people if they loved one another. He despised those who would impose their anachronistic ideas upon others, even when they didn’t make sense. 

“While Chan’s not technically a leader since there are a few different alpha’s that live in Seoul, he does have the largest pack, I think around sixty wolves or so and all of the other alpha’s respect him enough to let him handle matters like this and report back to them since they all work together. Now, it sounds like he’ll be handing off his duties to Jeongin. That means he won’t be coming here anymore,” Jisung whined. 

It was obvious that he was distressed that the young man who had been a rather important presence in their lives up until a few months ago would no longer be coming around for any reason, not even to see them.

“Maybe we could ask him again, Bin. It’s been a while. Maybe he feels like talking about it now.” 

“Jisung, stop sticking your nose into his business. If he ever wants you to know why, he’ll tell you himself.” 

That made Seungmin certain that Changbin knew exactly why it was that Woojin had ended the relationship since he said that Woojin would tell Jisung the reason when he was ready, not that he would tell both of them. Jisung obviously hadn’t picked up on all of the tiny details that Changbin had let slip but Seungmin could already see Jisung beginning to go on the defence so he stepped in to divert the train of the conversation. 

“So, Werewolves. What can you tell me about them? Do they really transform under the full moon?”

“Not really. Kind of? Ok, so, lycanthropy is technically a disease,” Jisung began, seemingly after shaking off the fleeting melancholy from moments ago. “Mundanes can be turned by being bitten or scratched by a Werewolf, though, this doesn’t always change someone, it only infects people about half of the time but both Shadowhunters and Werewolves have put in a lot of safeguards to stop rogue Werewolf bites, so they are a lot rarer now. Someone can also be born a Werewolf if they have two parents with lycanthropy but again, it doesn’t always result in a child with the disease. They’re mortal and have the same kind of lifespan that we do.” 

Seungmin thought that he should really buy a notepad and pen to jot all of this down. He was going to end up asking Jisung to sit down with him again at some point to make sure he wasn’t mixing up different people and their abilities. He was confused enough already and didn’t want to offend someone. 

“Since it is a demonic disease, the strain can cause high aggression in the early stages of turning. They can cause harm to others or themselves. Over time, they learn to control it if they survive long enough and they also learn to control when they want to turn.”

Wincing slightly as Changbin said ‘if they survive long enough’, Seungmin couldn’t imagine what going through a change like that must be like. Sure, he was after being dropped into a whole new lifestyle but he was still himself, even if he was learning about who that was. Those who were changing into a Werewolf must be so scared, turning into what they must have thought was a monster before becoming so agitated that they actually wanted to hurt themselves. 

“Werewolves like Chan, who have been this way for a while, can change at will. Their fur colour coincides with the hair colour they have as a human. Chan has silver fur, it’s really beautiful. The full moon influences them a little, heightening their senses and urge to revert back to their primal ways and turn into a wolf. Newly turned Werewolves like Jeongin would have a lot of trouble suppressing that urge. They don’t really have any control over themselves when they change forcefully under the full moon and could end up hurting or even killing someone. Since Chan has full control, I think he’s probably helping him with that.”

“Jeongin is only recently turned? How do you know?” Seungmin wondered out loud, glancing after the shadow of the younger man who he hadn’t been able to interact with earlier. 

“The bite mark on his neck is still tender. Werewolves have high regeneration rates which cure a lot of injuries but Jeongin’s mark hasn’t healed yet. It will leave a scar but a supernatural injury that was given to him as a human will take some time to mend itself, usually around six to eight months, meaning he was only turned recently.” 

“And does the whole alpha, beta, omega thing still come into play?” 

Changbin shook his head but then nodded and Seungmin really began to wonder if they were fucking with him by trying to confuse him but in the end, he figured that they just weren’t used to having to explain all of this information to someone who didn’t have a clue. 

“Pack leaders are called alphas and are the ones that those in the pack go to for advice, comfort and help. All others in the pack don’t really have a secondary title like that but if someone wished to challenge the alpha of the pack and take their place, then they would become the alpha. That’s it,” Jisung concluded, pushing himself up off the wall when he saw the door to outside begin to open, signifying that they had another guest. 

Seungmin began to wonder if every single Downworlder was just inherently beautiful because the young man that walked through the door was nothing short of breathtaking. Sleek, swept back, lavender hair was decorated with a floral crown of daisies and lilac. Silken clothes embroidered with vines complimented his lithe figure, emphasised his pointed ears and highlighted the stars dotted around his cheeks. Although they were folded close to his back, the wings on display radiated with glitter, purple and gold reflecting the light. 

“Holy fuck.”

Those were the words that Seungmin had expected to fall from his own lips but when he looked to the side, Changbin had already slapped his hand over his mouth to silence himself after he let the phrase slip. 

“Very crude, Shadowhunter. Is this how you always greet guests?” 

Changbin grimaced a little, thinking that he hadn’t actually said the words that loudly but figured the Faerie’s hearing was well above average, as he should already know. 

“My apologies. I was just surprised by…”

“Me? I suppose I can’t assign blame for that, especially to a simpleton such as yourself.” 

Trying to hold back a snort didn’t work out too well for Jisung but he attempted to mask it a tickle in his throat. Changbin wasn’t stupid however and threw the younger a threatening scowl before bestowing one upon the Faerie in front of him. Before he could even open his mouth to defend himself, the lavender haired man sighed as if bored after observing the whole interaction.

“Are you the head of the Institute? I have been told you want to speak with us about the recent demon attacks.”

“No, I’m not in charge. Woojin is currently busy and asked me to greet you in his stead. My name is Changbin, this is Seungmin and this is Jisung,” Changbin grumbled, trying to hold the same amount of confidence that Woojin had but not doing anything to hide how pissed he was about being insulted just moments ago. 

“I see,” the man said as his eyes glanced over all three of them before directing his gaze away. “My name is Felix and I shall be attending these meetings from now on. Please take care of me.”

Even though the words had left his mouth, it seemed that Felix couldn’t care less about being here or what it was that they wished to discuss, making Changbin’s frown deepen. 

“Of course, I hope you can take care of us too,” Changbin jeered with a much brighter tone than the Faerie, which clearly went unnoticed by Felix as he hummed in agreement. “If you just go through that door, you can take a seat and we shall be with you shortly.” 

“Thank you. I hope this meeting does not take too long.”

And with that, the conversation had ended, leaving Changbin, Jisung and Seungmin in a state of bewilderment at how rude the Faerie had been towards them as he disappeared through the door.

“Wow, beautiful on the outside but apparently not within,” Seungmin fumed, a little annoyed that someone had spoken to Changbin like that. 

“Not like he can help it really. Faeries can’t lie. He called it like he saw it.”

It took Changbin a lot longer than Seungmin to realise that Jisung had been insulting him by agreeing with what Felix had said about him and, in a way, it really just proved the Faerie’s point. 

“Shut up, Sungie. Just because he can’t lie doesn’t mean he can’t be pleasant.”

“So, Felix is a Faerie? Are they all that beautiful?” 

A small ‘yes’ was mumbled in unison from the men on either side of him, making him smirk a little as Jisung and Changbin stared at the door he had just walked through. 

“Is he the leader of the Faeries then?”

“No. He’s a proxy. The Seelie Queen never comes to these meetings herself. She always sends a member of her court, like Felix but he’s never been here before. There was a different Faerie here last few times, he didn’t even give us his name. He just kept quiet and reported back to the Queen but at least he wasn’t a rude asshole like mister high and mighty in there,” Changbin mumbled, pointing his chin towards where Felix was last seen. 

“Ok, so this Seelie Queen, is she in charge of all Faeries?”

“No, not technically. There are Faeries under the Seelie Queen’s protection and then there are those called Wild Faeries, who pledge allegiance to nobody. Faeries, like Warlocks, are not immortal but they do live longer lives since time moves slower in their realm. They age differently there but when they come to the human realm, they begin to age like we do. They tend not to care about the lives of anyone but their own but after a lot of discussion, we got the Seelie Queen to agree to send someone to these meetings, even though it seems like he doesn’t want to be here.”

“Shit, Bin, that guy really got to you, huh?” Jisung sassed, earning him a punch in the arm. 

“While their looks are somewhat angelic, their personalities are often associated with demons. They can be harsh and manipulative but again, you can’t put every Faerie into that category. But the Seelie Queen herself definitely does belong in that particular group. For lack of a better word, she’s a bitch.”

Jisung shrugged his shoulders, like he wasn’t apologetic about calling a rather powerful Faerie out like that. The elder went on to mention how she cared for the Faeries under her protection but cared about her own self interest more; not a great quality in a leader, Seungmin thought. 

Woojin took this moment to return, seemingly composed and in good spirits, something slightly shifted in his manner since they had last seen him. As he moved back to his place after Jisung had informed him that the Faerie proxy had arrived, Changbin grabbed onto the elder’s wrist, whispering a small ‘you ok?’, receiving a bare nod and a smile before returning his gaze to the front door as it opened once more. 

Delicacy and sophistication. Those were the words that immediately popped into Seungmin’s head when he set his eyes upon their final guest. Of course, Seungmin had already commented on the beauty of the other Downworlders that had arrived before but this man, he was on a whole other level. Another plane of celestial refinement. Pale, porcelain skin conflicted with deep, ebony eyes covered by thick eyelashes. His footsteps were silent, almost as if he were walking on air. The maroon shirt he wore really accentuated his lips which Seungmin couldn’t stop staring at, his eyes only being distracted by the beauty mark under the man’s left eye. 

“You certainly took your time getting here. You’re the last one to arrive,” Woojin joked, apparently back to his normal self after returning from wherever he had wandered off to. 

“I had just gone to bed, Wooj. Vampires do sleep during the day, you know. I should think that you would know that, being the head of the Institute and all.” 

“You sleep at night just like everyone else here, Hyunjin. Stop trying to make excuses when the only reason you were going to bed now is because you were out partying all night,” Jisung yelled from his spot, holding up his phone to show everyone the text he had gotten from the Vampire last night to ask if he was free to go to the club with him. 

Hyunjin stuck his tongue out at the younger, muttering something about how ‘work is always more important than friendship when it comes to Shadowhunters’, probably annoyed that Jisung told him that he had to go on a mission last night instead of hanging out with him. 

It was then that Seungmin saw Hyunjin’s pout drop as his eyes immediately zoned in on him. It was like he had been hit by a car, the feeling that his chest was being crushed from the inside and Seungmin wasn’t quite sure how to stop it. He tried with all of his might to break the staring match that they were having but was unable to look away, like Hyunjin had some sort of hold on him. The scent of roses and what he could only pinpoint as candyfloss flooded his nostrils and Seungmin almost felt like he was getting drunk off of the smell. It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes but Seungmin felt like he had been staring into Hyunjin’s eyes for hours before Woojin’s voice broke the reverie he had entered, calling on them to enter the room and take their places. 

Jisung smirked and patted Seungmin’s shoulder before taking a few steps ahead of him. He didn’t think much of it until he felt a slight presence behind him, turning his head to see Hyunjin practically walking beside him. 

“Hi there. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

Seungmin knew how to talk. He’d been doing it his whole life. It shouldn’t have been this, damn difficult to make his mouth form words to say hello to the other but when Hyunjin was standing this close to him, his mind felt like it had lost any ability to make him seem like a functioning human being. 

“I’m...uh, I’m Seungmin. Yes, that’s my name, I think.”

“You don’t sound so sure. Do you want me to ask again and give you a minute to confirm your answer?” Hyunjin snickered as he stopped before they went inside the room. 

“No, I’m sure. Sorry, my head is just a bit jumbled today. There’s a reason; a very long story that would probably bore you but I swear, I’m not always this idiotic.” 

Hyunjin tilted his head a little, flashing a smile and, at the same time, allowing two gleaming fangs to protrude from his lips, startling Seungmin just a little bit but not enough for him to show it in any way. 

“I didn’t think you were idiotic. Just cute. I’m Hyunjin by the way, head of the Seoul clan. Did you just transfer here or something?”

Before Seungmin could respond, Jisung’s head popped out of the room and quickly zeroed in on both of them. 

“Listen, as much as I love that you’re making friends, Minnie, if you could do this after the meeting so that Wooj doesn’t bite my head off about keeping an eye on you, I would really appreciate it!” Jisung hissed as he threw a glare at Hyunjin for prolonging the wait for the meeting’s beginning. 

“Sorry, Sungie, we’re coming,” Hyunjin promised before turning back to Seungmin with a thousand watt smile. “I’d actually like to hear more about that story that is making your head so jumbled. There’s something about you that I can’t quite put my finger on.”

The Vampire said nothing more before throwing another heavenly smile at Seungmin and disappearing through the door, not giving Seungmin a chance to say that he too felt something unusual but he was glad that he wasn’t the only one that seemed to feel it. Now, he just had to figure out what the hell ‘it’ was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then there were nine...


	7. Potvalor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating a tiny bit earlier this week since I actually got some more written than I had planned. Anyways, here you go. Not gonna lie, this chapter hurt a little bit to write.

“There seems to be certain areas that have a spike in demonic activity lately. Here in Myeongdong where it is densely populated during the daytime, here in Gangnam, one of the busiest retail districts and here, in Hongdae, where numerous students gather due to the universities located near there.”

Seungmin stared at the overly detailed map that Woojin was pointing to as he explained the severity of the situation to the others. Moving both his index fingers across the screen, the picture zoomed in as four videos popped up and showed different demon attacks that had been recorded. 

“We’ve increased patrols as much as we are able with our current team and we have asked the Clave for possible temporary reinforcements until we can get to the bottom of this mess but we are rather stretched at the moment,” Woojin explained, tapping the tablet in his hand, making numerous red dots pop up on the screen. 

“Some Warlocks have told me about the rifts that have been opening and letting the demons through. As you all know, it would usually take someone who is magically inclined to create portals and summon the demons through but it seems as though the majority of these cases don’t stem from that but tears in the fabric between Edom and Seoul,” Minho reported, biting on his thumbnail and reading the report on his own tablet while swiping to get to the next screen. 

As much as Jisung was trying to explain the different aspects they were speaking about to him, Seungmin admitted that he got lost once or twice along the way. The look of unmatched concentration on all of their faces was enough to distract him, which was awfully ironic. 

“I can try and put a few of my pack out during the day but I don’t want them going out at night, not after what happened today. I’ve gotten an update about Woong and Daewhi’s condition and they’ll live but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Woojin nodded his head carefully at Chan’s compromise, knowing that the Werewolf cared more for his friends than anything else in the entire world. As much as he wanted to do everything that he could, if his pack was in danger of getting harmed, there was no way Chan was going to take that risk. 

“That works out for me actually. I can cover the night shifts with a few of the coven. It’s more comfortable for us that way.”

Hyunjin stretched along with the comment, letting his eyes trail over to Seungmin when he noticed the other was staring at him. Feeling a little braver than he should have, the Vampire decided to throw the redhead a wink, snickering slightly that the shade of his face now matched his hair. 

“I’m sure I can ask some of the other Warlocks to place more wards around the city to try and stop these rifts from forming but there’s no guarantee that the demons won’t just move onto a different area without wards and start sprouting from there.”

After drawing on his screen, Minho showed the others where there were already wards set up and where he thought would be good areas to place new ones. Wards against demonic attacks would take up a lot of energy from the Warlocks setting them up and he didn’t want to ask too much of those under his care.

“Sealing the rifts once they form should not be all that difficult. I would not be entirely sure how to prevent them opening but we can stop the demons coming through if we patched them up after they have formed. We can take care of that,” asserted Felix with a positive tone, surprising Changbin who scoffed slightly at how engrossed he seemed to be in what was happening around him when he had made it very clear that he had no interest in being here earlier. 

“Alright, I think we can work off of this and we’ll reconvene next week and discuss if there has been any improvement. Chan and Hyunjin, come to me and we’ll discuss the schedule for patrolling. Minho, if you could ask any other Warlocks about setting up the wards, it would be appreciated. Also, if you could let Felix know where the rifts have been opening, it would probably help him decide with the Queen about where they should start sealing them up. That’s all for now. Thank you for coming and I’ll make sure to keep all of you updated on the progress.” 

Everyone stood up from their seats, with Chan and Hyunjin moving towards Woojin, which effectively left Jeongin alone, squirming in his seat uncomfortably. It was obvious to both Seungmin and Jisung that the younger was uneasy without Chan beside him but if he was going to keep coming to these meetings, Seungmin felt that they should make him feel safe in this space. Walking over to him, Seungmin took Chan’s seat and threw a warm smile at Jeongin when he turned around quickly, like an animal cornered by a predator; a strange concept for a wolf.

“Hey. Jeongin, right? How did you find your first meeting?”

“It was...interesting, I guess. A little intense but I suppose that’s the kind of life we lead, huh?” 

He couldn’t help it, he really couldn’t because when Jeongin giggled with a little hint of fear, Seungmin just wanted to gather him up in his arms and tell him that he didn’t have anything to worry about. 

“I’ll let you in on a little secret: it was my first meeting too and I thought it was insanely intense.”

“Really?” 

Seungmin didn’t think it would make that much of a difference to let the young Werewolf know that he wasn’t used to this either but apparently, it did, noticeable by the enormous smile on his face. 

“Yeah, I’m very new to this whole Shadowhunter thing but maybe we could talk about it the next time you come here? I’m learning and it looks like you are too. So, why don’t we learn together?” 

“That sounds alright,” Jeongin whispered sheepishly. “Um, I’m sorry, I don’t even know your name.” 

“Oh, right, we were never introduced. I’m Seungmin, I’m a...Shadowhunter, I guess and it is very nice to meet you, Jeongin.”

“Innie, let’s go,” Chan piped up, apparently finished discussing the rota for their watch upon the city with Hyunjin and Woojin. 

“I’ve got to go, Seungmin but it was really nice to meet you too. I’ll see you at the next meeting. Oh, if you want, here’s my number. I don’t really have many friends in this sort of circle so, if you wanted to chat about anything, I’m always around,” Jeongin chattered with more confidence, seemingly in far better spirits that he had made a friend who was in the exact same situation as he was. 

“Sure, Innie. Is it ok if I call you that?”

Withheld giggles and a vigorously nodding head told Seungmin that Jeongin would be fine with that arrangement as the younger stood up to make his way over to Chan to tell the alpha about the new companion he had made while he was away. 

Seungmin tried with all his might not to coo at the young man who was excitedly hopping up and down while pointing at him and talking in hushed whispers with his mentor, doing nothing to hide his smile when Chan raised an eyebrow at both of them, obviously not understanding what Jeongin meant when he said that Seungmin was ‘new to the whole supernatural world thing too.’ 

Hearing an over exaggerated clearing of someone’s throat extremely close to his left ear, Seungmin craned his neck to see Hyunjin standing too close for comfort, making him nearly leap out of his skin. Seungmin did begin to wonder how good of a Shadowhunter he would actually be since he kept getting freaked out by things that shouldn’t actually have freaked him out. 

“The puppy gave you his number, huh?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess. I’m not entirely sure but I think we’ve decided to be friends.”

The Vampire hummed in understanding, tapping his chin with his finger, his eyebrows creased as if he was in tremendously deep thought. A lightbulb seemed to go off in Hyunjin’s head as he made his way back over to the desk, ripped up a piece of paper and began scribbling before making his way back over to Seungmin and slipping it inside of his coat pocket. 

“I would feel awfully left out if I didn’t leave my number with you too. I’ll see you next week but in the meantime, if you want to call me, then please do. I’d love to get to know you a bit more,” the elder winked, sending an unknown chill up Seungmin’s spine. “Until then, Minnie.” 

As the Vampire departed, Seuming finally decided to breathe again and broke out of the trance he had been momentarily placed in, wondering if that was a technique Vampires used or if it was just his own stupid hormones working against him. Placing his hand inside of his pocket, he pulled out the small piece of paper that had Hyunjin’s name and number on it, a little smiley face and heart placed beside it too. Seungmin wondered why Hyunjin handed out his number like a lovestruck, teenage girl. 

“I’m sorry, did you just get hit on by the hottest Vampire in Seoul? And did he just call you Minnie? You’ve been here less than a day and you’re already enemies with half of the Shadow world. Oh, so many people are going to want to kill you now, Minnie,” Jisung giggled as he ripped the piece of paper away from Seungmin to make sure that his friend wasn’t getting screwed over but confirmed that it was indeed the number that he had stored in his phone for Hyunjin too. 

“Sungie, shut the hell up. He’s probably not even that interested, just saw a new Shadowhunter that he’s never seen before and decided to try his luck. That’s all this is. Right?”

“I dunno, Minnie. Hyunjin is _ really _particular about who he goes out with. He always has people throwing themselves at him and usually turns them down. You’ll never really know until you call him, which I totally think you should,” Jisung goaded as he wiggled his eyebrows at the other, to which Seungmin could only roll his eyes derisively. 

As he did so, he couldn’t help but notice Changbin downright glaring at Felix as he began to gather up his things and begin to leave the room but not before standing in front of the pissed off Shadowhunter with a blank look. 

“Well, it is good that the meeting didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Plus, I have some decent information to bring back to the queen. Seems like it was not a total waste of time coming here today like she told me it would be.” 

Dragging his teeth across his chapped lips, Changbin really looked like he was going through it by holding back on what he truly wanted to say but he had been warned by Woojin not to piss off the Faeries who came here; that just wouldn’t end well for him in any way. 

“I’m _ so _glad. You should come here more often if that’s the case. I know, why don’t you come around for tea tomorrow and we can all sit in a circle and get to know each other a bit better, hmm? Hold hands and sing cute, little friendship songs? Wouldn’t that be lovely?” 

A few steps away, Jisung and Seungmin were observing the whole exchange, wishing they had popcorn when what they were watching might possibly turn into a fist fight depending on Felix’s answer to Changbin’s blatant rudeness and sarcasm. However, they were a little disappointed when Felix simply stared at him before making a strange humming sound and exiting the room. Changbin looked somewhere between exasperated beyond belief and positively confounded, making the two younger men fall into convulsions of laughter. 

Rolling his eyes at their antics, Changbin disliked the fact that there were now two little minions since Seungmin came back, who would try and get a rise out of him every chance they got. He turned around with a huff, with Seungmin and Jisung beginning run up to him before the latter stopped in his tracks, seeing the two Werewolves making their way towards the front door. 

“Bye, Chan.” 

The silver haired man seemed slightly surprised by the farewell but the feeling soon passed and was replaced by a warmth in his chest when he saw Jisung smiling shyly at him.

“Goodbye, Sungie.” 

The use of his nickname made Jisung visibly perk up, looking like he wanted to say something further but was unsure whether or not he should. One thing he knew about Chan though, was that he was endlessly patient and could pick up on Jisung’s hesitance. So, when the Werewolf raised an eyebrow, Jisung took that as a gesture to say what was on his mind.

“Can you wait here for two minutes? I just wanted to give you something.”

“Sure, Sungie.”

Not waiting another second, Jisung giggled and bounced back down the hallway towards his room, not noticing the way Jeongin was smiling at his optimistic nature.

“He’s very cheerful,” Jeongin smirked, glancing up at Chan for a reaction. 

The elder had mentioned that he knew the Shadowhunters at the meeting that they would be attending together that day, though he hadn’t mentioned the extent of their relationship but from the way Jisung spoke to him made him think it was deeply rooted. 

“Yeah, he is. A real ball of sunshine,” Chan sighed, a look of longing replacing the one of fondness.

“Uh, Chan?”

Slowly turning around to meet Woojin’s gaze, Chan patted Jeongin on the small of his back with a smile, telling him to wait outside and that he would join him shortly. 

“Yeah?” 

Woojin had called out for Chan but he didn’t think that the young Werewolf would actually stop to have a conversation with him. Standing there awkwardly, Woojin didn’t quite know what to say when he was only a few feet away from the other, close enough to admire the deep blue eyes he hadn’t seen in so long. 

“I, um, I just wanted to say...Merry Christmas.” 

Chan’s expression remained stagnant, obviously not unsettled by the abrupt interaction. 

“Yeah, you too,” the Werewolf replied emotionlessly as he began to turn around and walk away. 

This was the most that Chan had spoken to him in months and Woojin didn’t want it to all end here so quickly. He wasn’t quite sure what was after taking over his mind in the moment but as he was quickly walking up to Chan before grabbing his wrist, Woojin considered the possibility of insanity slowly beginning to settle in. 

“You...you don’t have to leave just yet. Remember what we used to do on Christmas? After we ate, we would have hot chocolate with Bin and Sungie by the fire in my room. We could-”

“Woojin, can we stop this already?” 

Feeling Chan begin to tug his hand away, something in Woojin’s head was telling him to let go but something else was pleading with him to hold on. 

“Stop what, Channie?”

“_ That. _That’s exactly what I mean. Don’t call me Channie. Don’t act all friendly with me. Don’t invite me to hang out with you and your friends.”

“They’re your friends too,” Woojin whispered, feeling his heart clench painfully in his chest, a sense of incredible guilt invading his mind when he thought about how Jisung and Changbin had lost a terrific friend in Chan because of what he had done to him. 

Seeing Chan exhale heavily as he averted his gaze, Woojin finally let up on his grip and the Werewolf took the opportunity to pull his hand free. 

“Woojin, you were the one that ended this. Don't start acting like you didn’t say all of those things to me back then. _ You _ were the one that said that you couldn’t-” Chan bit his tongue, holding in a growl as his mind drifted back to the night that Woojin had ultimately ended any bond they shared. “I will attend a few more of these meetings with Jeongin so he doesn’t feel too overwhelmed but after that, you won’t see me anymore. There’s no reason to, right? Our relationship from here on out is strictly professional and nothing more. Do you understand me?”

He didn’t know why, since he had been the cause of this whole mess but Chan’s words hit Woojin harder than he ever thought possible. The look of pure apathy when Chan glared at him now was a stark contrast to the way he used to stare at him, like Woojin was his whole world. 

“You’re absolutely right. I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again. I’ll make sure to look after Jeongin while he’s here.” 

Taking that as his cue to leave, Chan simply nodded before starting towards the exit, forgetting about his promise to Jisung and slamming the door behind him. 

Woojin’s eyes lingered on the place where Chan’s shadow stood. He didn’t really know why he thought their conversation would have gone any differently but he had hoped. In all honesty, if someone had asked him for his opinion on the matter, Woojin would have said that he was in no way worthy to be forgiven by Chan; there were no second chances when it came to this. He didn’t deserve one. He had hurt Chan terribly and this was his just reward for it. Everything remained silent around him for what felt like an eternity, nothing breaking the quietness except for the slow beating of his heart.

A few more seconds passed before Jisung came running back, trying to catch his breath, obviously not wanting to keep Chan waiting while holding a red box with a golden ribbon wrapped around it. 

“Wooj, where’s Chan?” Jisung beamed as he scanned the area. 

“He just left, Sungie.”

“Oh,” Jisung faltered as he visibly deflated, turning the present between his fingertips around. “Ok.”

“Jisung...”

“It’s alright, he’s busy. Don’t worry about it. He probably wouldn’t have liked it anyways.” 

Swinging his arms by his side with a hint of embarrassment, Jisung did his utmost to keep a smile on his face but wasn’t doing all that well as Woojin saw it falter when he began to turn around and trod back towards his room, presumably to put the Christmas gift he had gotten for Chan back in his closet or to throw it away entirely. 

Woojin could see the repercussions finally setting in and how they had not only affected his own relationship with Chan but the bond between Chan and their friends too. Seeing the self consciousness making itself clear through Jisung’s body language, Woojin wanted so badly to tell the younger why it was that it had to be this way, why he had stripped Chan away from him when he knew that Jisung always looked up to the alpha wolf as a big brother. But he couldn’t. Jisung could never know. Nobody else could. 

But someone else _ did _. Feeling a set of eyes burning a hole in his face, Woojin glanced upwards to see Changbin staring at him, a mixture of sympathy and unbridled anger contorting his face. If Woojin could have helped it, he himself would be the only one who knew why Chan was no longer a part of their lives but Changbin had inadvertently discovered the reason, much to the eldest Shadowhunter’s chagrin. Woojin moved his gaze away, knowing that Changbin would just hound him again to tell Jisung the truth but he couldn’t do that. He needed to keep it to himself. 

“You look so inexplicably happy right now, Wooj,” Minho commented snarkily as he placed a hand upon Woojin’s shoulder and spun him around. “You wanna turn that frown upside down?” 

Swinging a bottle of whiskey around in his hand, Minho smirked that evil smirk that implied he was ready to cause some mischief.

“A bit early to be drinking, isn’t it, Min?”

“Nonsense. Every hour is happy hour if you try hard enough! Come on, it’s your Christmas present!” 

Woojin could already see his father’s face in his mind and the look of utter disbelief and scorn which would accompany the lashing that Woojin would receive for even entertaining the idea of drinking, let alone on the job. He was to uphold their name and not embarrass him in any way. His father’s exact words to him on a number of occasions. Really though, all of those thoughts just made the decision that much easier for him. 

“Fuck it, hand it over,” Woojin snarled, grabbing the bottle from Minho, screwing off the cap and beginning to chug it down as he headed towards his office. 

“Alrighty then. We are going all in, huh? Wooj, wait for me!” 

Once inside the room, Minho had the decency to grab two glasses and pry the alcohol away from Woojin’s hands. Nothing classy about drinking straight from the bottle. As he settled in his usual spot, the maroon armchair practically screaming out his name, Minho debated on whether or not he should once again touch on the sore subject that he knew would get him sent straight to Woojin’s bad books. 

“So, looks like you had a nice conversation with Chan.”

“Don’t, Minho. Just...don’t…” 

Minho decided not to push the subject any further when he saw Woojin knock back the entire glass before filling it up again, moving to do the same once more. Setting his own glass down, Minho stood and gently grabbed Woojin’s wrist, noticing how tired the other looked in doing so. How _ dead _ he looked. 

“Slow down, Wooj. I wanted to have a drink with a friend, not take care of a pissed Shadowhunter who demolished my fifty year old bottle of whiskey in ten minutes. Can’t have you losing face as head of the Institute now, can we?” Minho tried with a hint of humour but he could see that Woojin wasn’t in the mood for banter like he usually was. 

“Would it matter? Nothing I do is ever going to be good enough anyways. Why shouldn’t I lose face? What would my father do to me? He already treats me like shit. Would he threaten to take the job away from me? Let him have it. I never fucking wanted it in the first place!” Woojin yelled as he gestured wildly with his glass.

Thinking he could count the amount of times he had seen Woojin lose his cool like this on one hand, Minho grimaced at the volume of the other’s yell, wondering if it was the alcohol kicking in or just the repressed resentment finally seeping through. 

“Wooj, will you please just tell me what happened with Chan?”

“I told you what happened.”

“You told me a bullshit excuse that nobody believes. Why won’t you tell me? Whatever you did, whatever you said, I wouldn’t let anybody else know if that was the problem. I’m your friend, you know you can trust me. Please, Wooj.”

For a moment, it almost seemed like Woojin considered the proposal but ultimately decided against it before sipping on his drink once again. 

“You’re such a stubborn ass. Fine, if you don’t want to tell me, I won’t ask again but if you spiral any further, I am going inside of your memories and finding out the truth for myself.” 

That got Woojin’s attention as the Shadowhunter twirled faster than lightning to gawk at Minho with wide eyes before sending him a look that said ‘don’t you fucking dare.’ After a few ticks of silence had passed and Woojin seemed to have collected himself, he leant back in his chair as the Warlock did the same. 

“Min, I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help but you just need to let it go. I’ve moved on and so has Chan.”

“That’s a load of crap on both accounts but I’ve never been one to push my opinion onto others,” Minho insisted as he turned his eyes towards the fire, knowing that Woojin was already throwing him a highly unamused expression at the blatant lie. 

“How are you holding up, Min?”

“Me? I’m fine.”

“Come on, don’t lie to me.”

“Like you’re lying to me about Chan?”

“Minho,” Woojin warned, letting him know that if the subject of Chan came up again, he would swiftly kick the Warlock out of the Institute but keep the bottle of alcohol that was already half empty.

“Ok, ok. I guess...I guess I’m still reeling a little bit after Jihoon’s death. It’s hard to believe the old geezer is gone. He’s always been a presence in my life and now…” Minho shrugged his shoulders, not quite knowing how to carry on with his words but he didn’t need to; Woojin always knew what he was trying to say. 

“You don’t get over something like this so quickly, Min. It’s been less than a week, you need to give yourself time to grieve. He was like a father to you, taught you everything you know. He was a good man and a terrific Warlock.”

Minho nodded tiredly, keeping his eyes on the dancing flames beside him. Jihoon had been the High Warlock of Seoul before him and Minho had been his apprentice, since neither of his parents could teach him about what it meant to be a Warlock. He had lived with him for a good portion of his life, starting when he was twelve years old after his mother had passed away before making his own way in the world. When Jihoon ultimately decided to step down from his position, Minho was sure that the older man had put in a good word for him. With his mentor singing his praises and complimenting his power and discipline, it was no surprise that the rest of the Warlocks in Seoul had appointed him to Jihoon’s old post as High Warlock. 

“I remember when he used to come here to speak with my father. He was always really sweet towards me and the boys and since you were training with him, you always came along too. That’s how we first met, isn’t it? Then you wiggled your way into our lives. We had no chance to escape.”

“Oh, screw you. You wouldn’t last two seconds without me!” Minho pouted with mock outrage. 

The Warlock was glad to see a small smile crack Woojin’s hard exterior, allowing the man to revert back to his old self for just a moment.

“Because of my position and the fact that he used to be my tutor, I’ve been given the task of cleaning out his house. I have to decide what to keep and what to toss,” Minho sighed, the thoughts of the amount of work he would have to endure beginning to make him moody. “He also left a letter that was addressed to me. I don’t know what’s in it. I just...can’t really bring myself to open it yet. I think it would just cement the fact that he’s really gone, you know? Not just gone on one of his year long trips or attending some conference on the other side of the world.”

Lips pressed together in a thin line, Woojin nodded solemnly, knowing how much Minho loved the man who he owed so much too. He himself had always been rather fond of the elder Warlock who would always smuggle in candy for him, Jisung, Changbin and Seungmin when he came to visit, knowing that they didn’t get to indulge in many childish aspects of life since being a Shadowhunter required kids to grow up rather quickly. 

“Take your time, Min. If I know him, he probably just wanted to say how much you meant to him. He was proud of you and I’m sure he wrote that letter to tell you that you’ve been doing great as High Warlock.”

“Are you trying to turn me into a blubbering mess? Keep talking like that and you’ll get your wish,” Minho sassed, clearing his throat to rid himself of the lump that Woojin’s words had conjured up. 

Keeping up the comfortable conversation and relaxed atmosphere, both men sat for another hour or two before Minho announced that it was time for him to go. 

“You don’t want to stick around? We’ll be eating pretty soon, doing the whole presents thing and you could talk to Seungmin a little bit more. I know you missed him too.”

“I would but I told myself that I’d start clearing some of the stuff from the old man’s house today. I’ll make sure to come back tomorrow. You’re right, I did miss him and I can’t wait to get to know him again.”

“Why do you think it was that your tracking spell didn’t work on him?”

Minho hummed before shrugging his shoulders lackadaisically, not being able to give Woojin an answer to his question. He remembered the three young Shadowhunters coming to him after the incident, letting him know that Seungmin had been involved in the demon attack and how he was now M.I.A. He knew that tracking the young boy would be difficult with the mass of rogue energy flying around the city because of the attack but he thought after some time, he would have been able to find him. However, he came up empty, letting the others know that such a result usually only meant one thing.

“Can’t say for sure. It was weird though. There was no trace of him when I tried and I know I did it right. That shouldn’t happen unless he was dead. So why couldn't I find him if he’s here now, alive and well?” 

Now it was Woojin’s turn to become confuddled, pondering on what that could have meant. In reality, while they were thrilled to have Seungmin back with them, his return really brought along more questions than answers with it but ones that Woojin was set on finding out the truth about. 

“Min, you don’t think you could try something to help him get his memories back, do you?” 

As Minho finished the remnants of his drink, he once again shook his head but with more of a definitive confidence this time around. 

“If his memories had been blocked by a Warlock or something, then maybe but he actually lost his memories, Wooj. Something like that is beyond even me.”

“Wow, you’re not even trying to sound unpretentious, are you?”

“Hey, what can I say? No point in trying to be humble about all of _ this _,” Minho exclaimed as he gestured to himself. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions here, huh?”

“Yeah but ones that I intend on finding the answers to,” Woojin stated with conviction. 

As Woojin began to lead the Warlock to the door, he stopped in his tracks, calling on Minho to wait for him as he ran back to his desk. 

“Nearly forgot to give you your gift. Here you go.” 

Placing a hand on his chest and letting his lip tremble overdramatically, Minho exclaimed how Woojin ‘shouldn’t have spent all that money on little ol’ him’, letting Woojin hit him on the shoulder with the wrapped gift before placing it in his hands. As the Warlock carefully ripped the paper, the cocky smile on his face dropped slightly when he noticed what it was that the other had gotten for him. 

“Wooj, where did you get this? I’ve been looking for it for years.”

Turning the item around in his hands, staring at the _ ‘A history and analysis of the Dark War’ _book, Minho promptly shut his mouth as he raised his eyes to see Woojin grinning smugly at him, seeing as the Warlock constantly boasted that the other could no longer surprise him with anything. 

“Yeah, Sungie told me that you were. He figured that you’d like it so I called in a favour. Merry Christmas from all of us, Min.” 

“He did, huh? You too, Wooj. Thank you so much for this.”

Woojin could see that Minho was practically buzzing, obviously dying to get home and read it as fast as he possibly could but knew that the other would be heading to Jihoon’s old residence first to begin his task of clearing it out.

“Make sure you say goodbye to Bin, Sungie and Seungmin. They won’t be too happy with you if you leave without looking for them first.”

“You got it. See you tomorrow?”

“Sure, see you then.”

It seemed that Minho didn’t have to look all that much when he opened the door to reveal the three young men who had been mentioned previously, with Changbin’s fist raised to knock upon Woojin’s door. 

“Hey, Min. Almost hit you in the face.”

“You hit my face, Seo Changbin and it will be the last thing you ever do.”

While Changbin looked mildly horrified, Seungmin began to laugh at how the elder backed into him and away from Minho, like his threat held no joking tone. Changbin had tried to coerce Minho into staying but upon hearing where he was going, he gave the Warlock a small pat on his shoulder before moving aside. 

“I’ll be back tomorrow, Bin, no worries.” 

“Ok, I’m holding you to that.” 

Minho moved out the door, extending his hand towards Seungmin with a smile, which the red headed young man stared at before clasping it tightly. 

“I can’t wait to speak with you again, Seungminnie. We have a lot of lost time to catch up on.” 

Seungmin beamed at him, seemingly excited by the idea since a random memory of Minho had popped into his head upon meeting him, telling the young man that he had indeed known the Warlock at some point too. Minho got the feeling that Seungmin was warming up to the idea of becoming a Shadowhunter again, even if it would come with a lot of difficulties along the way. 

Letting his eyes fall upon the final member of the little group, Minho stared at the top of Jisung’s head as the younger kept his gaze upon his shoes, something that the Warlock didn’t think was more interesting than looking at him. 

“Bye, Sungie. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, Min. See you later.” 

The Warlock finally moved down the hallway, disappearing from sight as Changbin and Seungmin moved further into Woojin’s room to speak to the elder Shadowhunter. Neither of the parties seemed to notice Jisung with his head hung low, glancing after the man that had just departed. 

“Han Jisung, you are such a fucking idiot.” 


	8. Tempestuous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, another week, another chapter. Thank you guys so much for allowing this story to reach 2000 hits already! I really hope you're enjoying it. Also, for those who read it, thank you for helping Phantasm reach over 30000 hits. That was quite a shocker to wake up to today too. Anyways, on we go. Some little revelations coming to light for you today.

Nothing of importance happened for the rest of the day after the impromptu meeting, so the four Shadowhunters just decided to relax and bask in each other’s company. Even if Jisung had to literally jump on Woojin’s back to prevent him from going back to his office to work, he knew that his famous, patented pout always worked on the elder when he wanted to get his way. 

  
After they had shared a meal together for the first time as a group, Seungmin began to realise that this is where he truly belonged. He had gained friends, family and even if his logistical brain told him not to hold onto something that could be fleeting, Seungmin was going to ignore it and grasp onto the happiness that he had found with all his might. However, he needed to tie up the loose ends in the life that he had left behind first. 

Moving to Woojin’s office, where Changbin quickly lit the fire as Jisung carried in the tray of steaming hot chocolate, Seungmin took a seat beside the burning flames before taking a glass from Jisung. 

“Guys, if I’m going to be staying here, would it be alright if I went back to my apartment to get some stuff? I don’t have all that much but I should probably clear out my room if I’m not going to be living there anymore.” 

Hearing a squeak beside him, Seungmin whipped his head around to see Jisung smiling brightly at him, trying to play off the sound he had just made as one of pain for drinking the hot chocolate too quickly and not because he was so ecstatic that Seungmin had finally said it outright that he wanted to stay with them. 

“Of course, Seungmin. You can bring whatever you’d like and put them in your old room. We want you to feel at home here,” Woojin replied softly.

“Is it ok that I leave the institute? I’m feeling alright and I’m pretty sure that all of my wounds are healed from the attack. No rules about keeping me here just in case, right?” 

He looked to Woojin for an answer and the elder seemed to hesitate before replying but as he bit the inside of his cheek, he smiled gently and shook his head. 

“You’re free to come and go as you wish. Not on your own though, ok? I don’t want you walking around when you haven’t learned to defend yourself against demons yet.”

“I don’t have any plans tomorrow, Wooj. I’ll go with him,” Changbin yawned wearily, the warm drink in his hands seemingly making the young man feel too comfortable, so much so that he was going to nod off in his chair. 

“That ok with you, Seungmin?”

With a sleepy nod, Seungmin thanked Changbin for the offer, feeling rather safe that the other would be keeping watch over him and making sure nothing would harm him. 

“Ok! Before Bin falls asleep in that chair like an eighty year old, let’s do presents!” Jisung exclaimed, slurping a marshmallow up before setting his glass down and running to the other side of the room where a small tree stood, numerous, beautifully wrapped gifts beneath it. 

Jisung dug into his presents first, marvelling at the new set of throwing knives engraved with seraph markings, which he explained to Seungmin could kill demons unlike regular weapons. Jisung’s present ended up being an insight into the fact that normal weapons wouldn’t do anything against demons and very little against Downworlders since most of them could regenerate at an astonishing rate. The seraph markings imbued them with angelic powers that could harm and kill demons when used. He thanked Woojin for the set, telling Seungmin that his old ones had been damaged beyond repair. 

Woojin held up the present that Changbin had given him, the Witchlight glowing in the Shadowhunter’s hands as he gazed at Changbin with a knowing grin and many words of thanks. Jisung explained that Shadowhunters carried Witchlight stones to remind them that light can be found even amongst the darkest shadows since nothing could dampen the stones light and that Woojin’s had been misplaced. Not that he knew the real reason that Changbin had thought to give Woojin that particular present. 

“I feel so left out with all this gift giving,” Seungmin cried dramatically, sitting back to giggle at the upset faces of his friends. “I’m kidding, you guys. I’m not used to gifts anyways. It’s not a big deal.”

“I told you that was going to change, Minnie! That is why I was so kind and got you one!” 

Seungmin was rather surprised when Jisung presented him with a dark purple box with silver ribbons and a dashing smile. Frowning a little, Seungmin opened the box and pulled out a rather sizeable book, one about Shadowhunter runes and their uses. 

“You said you wanted to learn more about runes, right? Well, I thought this would benefit you.”

“Wow, Sungie. Thank you. I really was kidding earlier though. You guys really didn’t need to get me anything.”

Jisung shrugged with a hint of cockiness before a pissed off voice broke through the silence after his surprise. 

“God dammit, I knew there was something missing from my bookshelf! Jisung! You can’t just steal my stuff and give it to others without asking me!” Woojin huffed in exasperation, eyeing the younger man for taking his book on runes from his bookcase and gifting it to Seungmin in his name. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Wooj. Besides, you never use it anyway.” 

Noticing the annoyed look on Woojin’s face, Seungmin hurriedly stood up to give the book back to the elder but Woojin just shook his head with a small smile, telling him that he would need it more than him from now on. 

“Well, I got Seungmin a present too.”

With a look of betrayal written across his face, Jisung prodded and poked Changbin after his claim, saying that he wasn’t supposed to do something like that. According to Jisung, _ he _ was meant to be the thoughtful and caring one in their group, much to both Changbin and Woojin’s amusement as they answered with a little scoff. 

“Really? You did too?” Seungmin spluttered, a little embarrassed that he was receiving so many things but he had nothing to give in return. 

“Kind of. Nothing tangible but, and this is only if you’re ok with it, I would like to offer to train you as a Shadowhunter.”

“Wow, Bin. Are you actually offering to train someone out of the goodness of his heart and not just to show off all of your skills?”

Changbin pushed Jisung as he sat on the armrest of the chair, making the young man yell and fall to the floor with a bang. 

“Really? You would do that? I’m not particularly athletic by any standards, I might be really slow on picking up things like fighting techniques.”

“Good thing I have Sungie in my life then. Because of him, I am endlessly patient. Made exceedingly obvious by the fact that I am not throttling him when he is currently strewn across the floor like the dramatic bitch he is,” Changbin sighed with a disapproving look targeted towards Jisung theatrically whimpering on the ground as he patted his backside that had harshly met with the wooden floor.

Tentatively sipping his drink, Seungmin debated the pros and cons of taking Changbin up on his offer. Since he had decided to stay with his new friends, he didn’t want to mooch off of them and take advantage of their generosity. If he decided to train and become a full fledged Shadowhunter, he could help them out by going on missions or doing jobs around the Institute. Plus, if he was being entirely honest with himself, the thoughts of being involved in such a strange and exciting world was intriguing, especially after spending what he could remember of his life in such an unremarkable way. 

“Seungmin, I want you to know that this is not an ultimatum,” Woojin intervened “If you don’t want to train as a Shadowhunter, then that is fine by all of us. You will always have a place here, regardless if you choose to become active or not. I will make sure of that.”

Bowing his head in appreciation at Woojin’s kind words, Seungmin thought that the acceptance he was receiving from the others and lack of pressure made his decision so much easier. 

“Thank you but I would actually like to give it a try.” 

Moving to sit up beside Seungmin on the couch, Jisung clapped his hands together and pulled on Seungmin’s arm before squeezing it tight. The redhead left go a pained yelp at Jisung’s strength before his arm was suddenly free, Jisung hopping on the couch with apologies for his thoughtless actions. 

“We’ll try a few basic training drills tomorrow after we come back from your apartment. That ok with you?” Changbin chuckled as Jisung continued to fuss over Seungmin. 

“I hope I can be a decent student.”

“You always were when you were a kid. I don’t see why that would have changed,” hummed Woojin. 

The young men spoke well into the night, learning more about Seungmin’s life that he had led as a Mundane, while they told tales about Seungmin’s past Shadowhunter life in return. There was a cozy atmosphere as they spoke but even the silences were comfortable too. 

As they began to return to their rooms, with Jisung walking Seungmin back to his, the young man couldn’t help but wonder what sort of day was ahead of him as he began to truly try to live it out as a Shadowhunter. Laying back on his bed, he began to question if he would ever be able to remember the life he once held. Bits and pieces were coming back to him since he had arrived at the Institute but it wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to remember every last detail, even if it was something like the night of the attack. Seungmin wanted to know about all of it and he was hoping that jumping back into his old life would be a step in the right direction. 

* * *

Changbin had been sitting at his desk since he had left the others and returned to his room to turn in for the night. Except he had forgotten about the report he had to fill out about the mission he had gone on with Jisung that had ultimately allowed them to find Seungmin again. He could leave it for a few days but thought about the possibility of even more reports stacking up for him to finish and the idea made him grimace. He wasn’t the same as Jisung in that sense, leaving everything until the last minute. 

He tried to focus as much as he possibly could but a tinge of annoyance was still running throughout his mind and he couldn’t seem to get over it. Letting out an elongated sigh, Changbin dropped his pen onto the form he was filling out and let his head rest against the back of the chair. 

It wasn’t any secret that Faeries were honest, most of the time to a fault but many learned to keep their mouths shut on things that could be seen as insulting; that was something a lot of Faeries learned from the time they would spend in the human realm. However, it seemed that Felix didn’t care about hurting Changbin’s feelings when he called him a simpleton. From the blank look on his face earlier, it almost seemed as if he didn’t even register that Changbin _ had _been offended by his words. Not that Changbin would admit it, but he was. He was one of the best Shadowhunters out there, with regards to both physical and mental capacities. Who was Felix to go around assuming that he wasn’t smart just because he had let a little phrase slip since he was so taken aback by Felix’s beauty?

At that thought, Changbin immediately straightened up and smacked his own cheek, a warning to himself that he should focus on the task at hand and not worry about the little, insignificant Faerie who had gotten under his skin. Just as he picked up his pen again, a barely audible knock on his door drew his attention towards it but not before he glanced at the clock on his mantlepiece. It was already two thirty in the morning and he wondered why everyone hadn’t gone to sleep yet. He was just an anomaly at the moment; everyone else should have been snoring safely in their beds. 

Pulling the door open as gently as he could, Changbin was surprised to see Woojin standing there, the hem of the oversized t-shirt hanging over his frame grasped between his fingertips. 

“Hey, Wooj. What’s up?” he whispered.

A flash of uncertainty and embarrassment distorted the elder’s face as he opened his mouth before quickly shutting it again. 

“You know what? It’s nothing. I’m sorry if I woke you up, Bin. Just me being stupid.”

“Is it one of those nights?” 

Changbin had asked in the form of a question but he already knew the answer from the moment he saw Woojin standing at his door after everyone else was already in bed. His suspicions were only confirmed when the raven haired man nodded his head, eyes cast downwards on the hardwood floor. 

“Ok then. Come on in. I wasn’t sleeping, just filling out some reports. Go ahead, I’ll be right there.” 

This wasn’t the first night this had happened. In fact, Changbin had become so very used to Woojin calling to his room with the awkward and self conscious pout on his face but it was never usually so late into the night. Changbin began to change out of his clothes and slipped into a more comfortable set of pyjamas. He turned around to see Woojin already under the blankets, snuggled into one of Changbin’s pillows as he let out a ragged breath. 

It hurt so much, seeing his strong, confident, optimistic brother like this. So small and fragile, like if Changbin touched him, he would shatter into a million pieces but he knew that’s what Woojin needed in this moment, for someone to hold him close and tell him that things would work out eventually. Taking his place beside the elder, Changbin fixed the duvet, making sure it covered both of them before taking Woojin in his arms and resting his chin upon the mop of black hair. 

“Some leader I am, huh? Having to come to you for help like this. People would laugh at me if they could see me now.” 

“Are you not allowed to need comfort when you’re in a position of power? I would think that those are the people in need of it the most. How many times do I have to tell you, Wooj? Anytime, day or night, no matter what, you can always come to me for help, even if it’s for something like this. Besides, you know I love giving hugs, it’s what I’m best at.” 

Woojin chuckled a little but only tightened his hold around Changbin’s middle and nuzzled further into the embrace. 

“Wooj, you can’t keep this up for much longer. You may be able to fool Sungie, because, let’s face it, he’s an idiot most of the time,” Changbin declared as Woojin smacked him on the thigh for talking about their friend like that. “But I can see it. You’re exhausted, Wooj and not just because of your workload. This is weighing on your mind constantly and it won’t stop until you tell them what it was that happened.”

“Bin, you know I can’t,” Woojin whispered, holding onto Changbin’s t-shirt with an ironclad grip. “I have to keep it to myself and you promised not to tell either.”

It was something that Changbin often regretted, promising to keep Woojin’s secret to himself. He wished that he could shout it from the rooftops and let everyone know but he also knew the reason that he couldn’t. In one way, he wished that he had never heard why it was that Woojin had to end his relationship with Chan so that he wouldn’t be carrying such a burdensome secret but, at the same time, he was glad he did know so that Woojin didn’t have to carry it alone. So that, in times like these, when Woojin needed someone he trusted to keep him close, Changbin could be there for him.

He just wanted things to go back to the way that they were but as time went on, he became increasingly worried that it could never happen.

“Chan deserves to know the truth, Woojin.” 

The elder remained silent but Changbin could feel the tears running down Woojin’s face against his neck. Knowing he wasn’t going to get a response on the matter this time around, Changbin simply sighed and tangled their legs together so that there was no space left between them. He gently ran his fingers through Woojin’s hair as the first of his wet sobs broke through, causing Changbin’s heart to crack. 

“It will be alright, Wooj. Everything will be alright,” Changbin assured, even though he wasn’t entirely sure that he believed his own words. 

* * *

Jisung had woken up about twenty minutes ago and in all that time, he had just been repeating the same phrases over and over again in his head. 

_ 'You’re such a moron. How could you let this happen? You know you’re the only one feeling this way. You should have listened to Changbin. Such a fucking moron.' _

This particular train of thought had been running on the tracks in his head for about five months now but it didn’t stop him from continuing with his dangerous routine that he couldn’t seem to snap out of. Slipping on his shoes and closing the door as quietly as he possibly could, Jisung turned around to lean against it and slowly slid down to the floor. 

It had been a compromise in the beginning when it had all started six months ago and Jisung was more than willing to adhere to it. He couldn’t deny that he always thought Minho was handsome but it was sometime last year when he found himself longing after one of his best friends, someone he grew up with. He didn’t have strong feelings for him per se, just a little crush more than anything else. Everytime Minho would come to the Institute, Jisung tried dropping some very subtle hints because, in all honesty, he didn’t want Woojin or Changbin to know anything about what he was attempting to convey. Minho was quick though and picked up on what Jisung was trying to get at. 

However, just as Changbin had said, Minho made it very clear to Jisung that, if they were to get together, there would be absolutely no feelings behind it; it would all just be for fun. Jisung was more than content to agree to this, assuming that he just needed to get the whole thing out of his system. Most of the time, their meetings would just involve talking, watching movies and heated make out sessions on Minho’s couch. There would be no snuggles or forehead kisses, nothing to make it seem like something more intimate and really, that’s all that Jisung had expected. 

What he _ hadn’t _expected was for his feelings to develop from a crush into full on romantic feelings for the elder. Jisung honestly didn’t see it coming but being alone with Minho, having all of the Warlock’s attention on him and only him, allowed Jisung to see all of the little habits, cute mannerisms and otherwise invisible, adorable quirks that he had never noticed before. Minho treated him so gently, like he was made out of glass most of the time and Jisung craved that sort of attention from someone, even if he didn’t know it in the beginning. He was a Shadowhunter, a fierce warrior that took down monsters to keep people safe. Jisung was proud of who he was, independent and strong but sometimes, he just wanted someone to look into his eyes or hold him near, whispering reassurances that they would always be there for him. 

However, Jisung knew that Minho was not of the same mindset but that’s what they had agreed on after all. Jisung couldn’t blame him for that and had absolutely no right to feel cheated when Minho would talk about other people he had been spending time with or when he would see the Warlock at a gathering or party with a dainty little Vampire or stunning Werewolf on his arm. But he still did. There was nothing to be jealous about because Minho wasn’t his and that was something that was killing him inside. 

While the Warlock couldn’t care less about who was wise to their little agreement, Jisung made him promise not to let anyone at the Institute know, especially not his _ Parabatai, _who he knew would absolutely rip him apart for getting into such a dysfunctional situation. Due to this, it involved a lot of Jisung waiting for the others to fall asleep before sneaking out in the dead of night to spend time with Minho, only to sneak back in just as the sun began to rise. Jisung had always considered the Warlock to be one of his best friends but since they both led busy lives, they never got to spend as much time together as they would have liked. Now, Jisung saw Minho at least two or three times a week. 

He would forget about all of his worries when he was with Minho, simply savouring in the Warlock’s attention but not affection. However, every time he was left alone with his thoughts, the self doubt and hate would return. After finding Seungmin, he had been so preoccupied that his situation never really crossed his mind but then the meeting had been called and Minho had come along with everyone else, causing Jisung’s emotions to come flooding back again. 

Thinking about the idea of spending all of his time about Minho made Jisung’s heart sing. Picturing the way the Warlock would hold him close for all of their friends to see, giving his cheeks plentiful kisses that would make him laugh and hug Minho close in a way that showed how he never wanted to let him go. Jisung imagined coming back to the home he shared with Minho, doing banal, everyday things like making dinner and snuggling up together in bed before drifting off in each others arms. But in the end, that’s all everything was: Jisung’s imagination. He was simply one of many and he knew from Minho’s lifestyle up until now that he would never be anything more to the Warlock than a way to pass the time in this regard. 

But he didn’t want to stop. There was no preferable end to this for him. He could tell Minho about his feelings but that would just end up making the Warlock uncomfortable and their arrangement would end. Something that Jisung did _ not _want to happen. He could finish it himself without giving a reason, which he knew Minho would be fine with but Jisung was selfish and didn’t want to give up the time he had with Minho, even if he was sharing with others. In the end, he ultimately decided to keep his mouth shut and continue on this reckless cycle that felt like someone stabbing him in the chest everytime he would sneak out of Minho’s apartment in the early hours of the morning, like he had just done as he left the Warlock curled up asleep on the couch where they had both drifted off after watching some cheesy romcom, as per Jisung’s request. Hair strewn about his face so beautifully and soft breaths falling from his plump lips, Jisung wanted to stand there and look at Minho’s sleeping form for as long as he could but he knew the others would be waking up soon and he needed to return.

It always felt wrong, sneaking around like this, leaving Minho’s apartment without even so much as a goodbye. It made him feel cheap, used, like he didn’t matter and it hurt but he knew it was entirely his own fault. Falling in love with someone who would never fall in love with you; it was just plain foolish. Feeling more and more miserable and depressed as he walked through the sleepy streets of Seoul to head back to the Institute, Jisung decided to just put his headphones on and blast whatever song his shuffled playlist decided to play for him. Did it help that what came through the earpieces was some corny, clichéd breakup song about losing the one you love? No, no it did not. 

More often than not, Jisung could slip into his room unnoticed before showering and making his way to the dining hall. He would usually be pretty exhausted for the rest of the day but he tried not to let it show. If Changbin and Woojin ever noticed it, they never said anything. However, this morning, seeing as the universe was working against him, he was not able to tiptoe to his room without getting caught. 

“Sungie? Where are you coming from?”

Now, Jisung had to admit, it was a pretty great feeling hearing Seungmin’s voice with a naturally bright tone greeting him in the morning. He now knew for certain that he hadn’t just created the whole ‘finding one of their best friends again’ thing in his head the previous night. What _wasn’t_ so great was that Changbin was standing right beside him, an unimpressed scowl on his face. 

“Just went out for a quick walk. Needed to clear my head.” 

“That’s a clear lie. Seungmin went to get you this morning to see if you wanted to help us get his stuff from his apartment before beginning his training but he said your bed didn’t look like it had been slept in. It looked like that to me too,” Changbin nagged, irritating Jisung’s already frayed nerves further. 

“Does it really matter where I was? I’m home now, aren’t I?” 

“Jisung…”

“Leave it alone, Bin.”

“Jisung, tell me where you were. Now.”

“Changbin! You’re my _ Parabatai, _not my mother! Can you just fuck off and leave me alone for once in your goddamn life?!” Jisung yelled with palpable rage, even if he knew that Changbin wasn’t the cause of it. 

He was mad at himself, not his friend but he couldn’t help it. Once the spite laced words left his mouth, it was like a poison escaping his body. It felt good to finally get it out but the shocked look on both Changbin and Seungmin’s faces, as well as the few other Shadowhunters who were early risers standing around him, told him that they now felt the hurt in his stead. 

Running his hands through his disheveled hair, Jisung didn’t have the heart to look up at his _ Parabatai’s _face, knowing that he never ever spoke to Changbin like that in earnest. They messed around, threw playful insults at each other but if either one of them ever crossed a line with their teasing, the other promptly let them know that enough was enough. That’s the way they had always functioned because they shared everything with one another; their relationship was based on an immense trust. So, when Changbin didn’t say anything as Jisung kept his gaze practically anywhere except his two friends standing in front of him, the younger took the opportunity to stalk off to his room, not returning any of the early morning greetings that were thrown to him along the way. 

“Um, I’m gonna go and make sure that he’s ok,” worried Seungmin, squeezing Changbin’s wrist and taking off after Jisung. 

The room was eerily quiet before Changbin looked at everyone around him, many suddenly continuing to walk to wherever they were going or restarting the conversations they were having before Jisung’s outburst. It was so unlike the younger man to make a scene and, even stranger, to scream at Changbin about minding his own business. 

The only reason that Changbin felt the need to ask in the first place was the sense of agony that he could feel through his _ Parabatai _ bond with Jisung. The bond did not transfer every single emotion that their other half was going through; that would be endlessly annoying and confusing since you wouldn’t be able to tell if what you were feeling was what you felt or what your _ Parabatai _felt. Only extreme flares of emotion could be felt, surges of happiness, anger, sadness, pain and Changbin knew that Jisung was in a state of the latter. His outburst really only proved that but if he didn’t want to talk about it with Changbin, then he wasn’t going to push the younger. Perhaps Seungmin was the right person to check on him in this moment and see if he could get to the bottom of it. 

“Changbin?”

The young man turned to see Mina, another Shadowhunter who had transferred to their Institute from the one in Tokyo two years ago. She was good friends with his mother and by extension, Changbin as well. 

“Yeah?”

“You have a visitor. They’re waiting in the lounge. Asked _ specifically _for you,” she bubbled, raising her eyebrows in a teasing manner before taking off. 

He began to wonder who it could be that needed to speak explicitly with him. Most visitors looked for Woojin first since he was the Institute’s head and dealt with anyone who needed to speak with someone about important matters. 

Changbin knew it wasn’t his mother either. He had called her before going to bed last night, letting her know about Seungmin and how they had finally found him. To say that she completely broke down would be an understatement. She cried and wailed and asked Changbin seventeen times (yes, he counted) if he was sure that it was Seungmin that they had found. When he replied that they were certain, she let him know that she would get home as soon as she had completed the mission she was currently on with her team. It would take no more than two days but she certainly wouldn’t be home before then. So, he really didn’t have a clue as to who could be looking for him. 

And boy, when he discovered who it was, he was more confused than ever. 

“Uh, Felix?”

The Faerie looked around from where he stood admiring the paintings of the angels placed around the room. If someone were to ask Changbin for his opinion, which they didn’t, he would have said that Felix looked even more stunning than he had the previous day. While he no longer wore his floral crown, his ears were encased in golden leaf cuff earrings. His clothes looked to be a lot more relaxed today, a flowing organza shirt against pleated linen trousers. It was less formal but really, that just managed to enhance the Faerie’s natural beauty instead. 

“Good morning, Changbin.”

“I...I don’t mean to be rude...” 

_ ‘Or maybe I do after the way you treated me yesterday,’ _Changbin thought.

“...but what the hell are you doing here?”

Felix looked at him inquisitively, his brow creasing ever so slowly in confusion before he began to play with his fingers, almost nervously. 

“Did you...did you not ask me to come back today?” 

Now it was Changbin’s turn to be downright stupefied and he had to admit that he was becoming tired of being utterly confused whenever he was in Felix’s presence. 

“Me? I did? When?”

“Yesterday, when I was leaving, you said to come back for tea so that we could get to know each other a little better.”

Changbin instantly remembered what he had said to Felix just after the meeting had ended but he _ also _remembered being a snarky, sardonic asshole when he said it too. 

“Um, yeah, I did but I was clearly making fun of you. I was being sarcastic, Felix.”

It was the first time that Changbin saw the blank expression of the Faerie shift and he didn’t like that it morphed into one of utter disappointment and pain. 

“You were making fun of me? Oh, I’m sorry. I am not really good at picking up on stuff like that. Of course you would not want me to come back here. I should not have come. Sorry,” Felix whispered as he grabbed a small box he had left on the couch in his hands and began to leave the room. 

“Wait! Hold on a second. Did you seriously not realise that I wasn’t being sincere last night? You were so rude to me, I thought that you would easily pick up on the fact that I was just giving as good as I got from you.”

“Me? I was rude to you last night? What did I say?” 

Changbin had to try with all his might not to fall into a fit of unrestrained laughter when Felix asked the question but when he looked deep into the Faerie’s eyes, he saw that the other really couldn’t recognise where it was in the evening previous that he had offended Changbin. 

“You called me a simpleton, had such a bored look on your face when you spoke to me, you said that you thought the meeting would be a complete waste of time, just like your queen. How was that not rude?”  
  


Felix’s eyes widened slightly as he looked at Changbin, wincing at the Shadowhunter’s harsh tone. 

“I...I am really sorry about that. I did not realise I was being rude. Please forgive me,” Felix pleaded as he bowed towards Changbin, which was strange in itself because Faeries would never bow their heads towards Shadowhunters; that was something that just didn’t happen. However, Changbin could see that Felix wasn’t trying to play him since, as he knew, Faeries couldn’t lie.

“Seriously? How did you not know?”

“Well, I have not really had the chance to speak with a human before. Last night was only my second time in your realm. I do not know how to pick up on certain human emotions or things like sarcasm just yet.”

That surprised Changbin since most Faeries would venture out to the human realm every now and again when they wished for a change of scenery but he was sure there were those that never came too, he just didn’t know why. Even if Felix looked to be around the same age as him, he knew that Faeries aged slower due to time passing differently in their realm. He wondered why it was that Felix had never really ventured to their realm before in his lengthy life. 

“To be honest, my queen just told me what it was I should say and how to act since I have never really spent time here before, that all of you behaved this way towards one another but I did not realise that this was not the case. I am really sorry.”

Of course this was the Seelie Queen’s doing. She always loved to get a rise out of Shadowhunters whenever she could since she thought herself above all of them. Felix just happened to be the unfortunate pawn that was chosen to begin a rocky relationship with Changbin.

“Oh, ok. Well here’s your first lesson: what you said last night would be considered rude to humans. I know you can’t lie but perhaps you can just keep some thoughts to yourself from now on.”

Felix shied away, nodding abashadley and holding the small box close to his chest before apologising again. He was a completely different person from the Faerie that Changbin had met last night, looking a little lost and slightly on edge since the Shadowhunter had scolded him. 

“I shall leave now. I am sorry again for coming here when you did not want me to. I will try to learn more about humans before the next meeting so that I will not offend anyone else. I am really sorry for saying all of those things last night too. Goodbye, Changbin. Sorry again.” 

“Felix, hold on,” Changbin exclaimed, putting his hand on the door that Felix had just opened to try and escape the awkward atmosphere. “What’s in the box?” 

“Oh, since you said we were having tea, I thought it would be…rude if I came empty handed. So, I brought some cakes.”

Raising an eyebrow, Changbin looked at the box with a suspicious glint in his eyes, knowing that Faeries didn’t usually eat the same thing as humans. He also remembered the bedtime stories his mother used to tell him about never accepting food or drink from Faeries but they were just fables, ones that showed how Faeries would draw humans into their realm so that they couldn’t escape and mess with them but the legends still made Changbin hesitant to accept anything from Felix. 

Obviously catching onto his uncertainty, Felix huffed a little with a small grin, one that Changbin thought was much better suited to his face than that blank look he had been sporting. 

“Do not worry, I bought them in the bakery just down the street. I asked them what people liked and they gave me a little selection. They told me these are the most delicious ones,” Felix beamed as he opened the box and showed Changbin the little fairy cakes with chocolate and strawberry frosting that were covered in multicoloured sprinkles. 

The Faerie’s smile fell a little when he realised he had now bought them for nothing. 

“Here, you can keep them. There is no point in me bringing them back home. Share them with your friends. I hope you enjoy them.” 

Felix pushed the box into Changbin’s hands and bowed politely once more before exiting the room, leaving Changbin standing there with his hands full and a strange sense of guilt rising in his chest. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for the Faerie last night, being thrown into something like that on one of his first nights in the human realm. In the end, it sounded like it wasn’t his fault that they hadn’t gotten off to the best start either, that the Seelie Queen had been messing with him to try and start a fight with the Shadowhunters. Felix just let any old thought that flowed into his head fall through his lips and the fact that he was probably nervous didn’t help him to control whatever was coming out of his mouth either. 

Taking pity on him, Changbin bolted out the door, seeing the Faerie just about to exit the building and return back home. 

“Hey, Felix. Would you like to stay for tea?” Changbin offered but didn’t miss the was Felix squinted his eyes, trying to discern if Changbin was being genuine this time around or if he was going to be tricked again. “I’m being serious this time. No sarcasm, no jokes, no making fun of you. If you’d like, we can sit and chat for a little while.” 

Felix’s whole demeanor changed once again, with Changbin feeling his own mood lift when he saw the Faerie smile at him with a small twinkle in his eye. 

“Yeah, I would like that a lot.” 


	9. Assuage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These double knot concept photos are slowly killing me but I'm still here to deliver a new chapter! Hope you guys like it.

“Sungie?”

After witnessing the tense altercation between Jisung and Changbin, Seungmin had a feeling that this was something that didn’t occur very often, judging by the startled looks on both of their faces after Jisung had let loose on his anger. 

Seungmin knew in the moment after Jisung had run off that he probably didn’t want Changbin chasing after him and Changbin probably thought it best to give the younger some space after his outburst. Maybe it wasn’t his place but Seungmin thought he might be the best one to check on Jisung instead of his older friends who would probably push him for an answer on his whereabouts.

Following Jisung down the hall, Seungmin knocked on the formidable door to the young man’s room before poking his head inside and calling his name softly. 

“Sorry. I’m so sorry. God, I’m such an asshole,” Jisung whimpered as he reclined back on his bed, palms pressed against his eyes and Seungmin didn’t need to draw closer to know that he was probably doing this to stop the tears of regret from falling. 

Tentatively closing the door behind him so that it would give them some privacy, Seungmin slipped into the rather cluttered room. He understood why Changbin had been shocked that Jisung had managed to keep Seungmin’s room so immaculately spotless when his own was like a tornado had torn through it.

The navy closet further into the room was open as clothes flowed out of it like some sort of makeshift river. Books of different shapes and sizes were open upon every surface, with sticky notes and dog ears obscuring the words. The pillows that should have been at the head of the bed were on the floor adjacent to it instead. Jisung’s character making itself known through the way he personalised his room, Seungmin thought. 

“You’re not an asshole, Sungie. Trust me when I say that,” Seungmin reassured gently, taking a seat beside the distressed Shadowhunter on the unmade bed. 

“Yes I am. I just snapped at Binnie because he was worried about where I was. He was only looking out for me and I yelled at him to fuck off. Was he angry when I left? Or disappointed? Is that why you’re here and not him? Oh no, I don’t want him to be mad at me.” 

Jisung rolled over so that his face was pushed into the mattress, little whines being muffled as he writhed slightly. 

Placing a comforting hand on his back, Seungmin rubbed up and down to try and disperse some of the tension that he could see beginning to build. 

“He wasn’t mad, Sungie. I think he was just a little shocked that you yelled at him.”

The ball that was Jisung cried out once again and began to pull the quilt over his head. 

“But you’re right, he only did it because he was worried. When I went to check on you this morning and you weren’t in your room, I went to Changbin to see if he knew where you were. He went into full momma bear mode, running around the Institute trying to find you.” 

That made Jisung uncurl from his position and glance at Seungmin with shimmering eyes from unshed tears.

“Kept mumbling something about ‘feeling the pain through the _ Parabatai _bond.’ He was pretty distraught, Sungie.”

“Oh, crap. I didn’t even think about that.”

Pulling his knees up to his chest, Jisung frantically bit on a loose piece of skin beside his fingernail, eyes darting all over the place, a side effect of trying to gather all of his thoughts together. 

Seungmin felt that he probably wouldn’t garner the same reaction as Changbin had earlier, so he decided to try his luck with his own line of questioning. 

“Do you want to talk about why you snapped? Or where you were? I won’t tell Changbin if you don’t want me to.” 

Jisung’s weighted sigh mixed with the calm wind that was fluttering in through the open window. For a moment, Seungmin thought the slightly older man was going to let his feelings pour out but all he got was a solemn shake of a head in return.

“I was just a little upset. My own fault. It’s not that big of a deal”

Seungmin hummed, about to say that if he was upset, even just a little bit, then it was a big deal to him but he wasn’t going to push Jisung when he obviously didn’t want to speak about it. He saw how that had turned out for Changbin.

“You weren’t doing anything dangerous, were you?”

“No, not physically anyways.”

“How about something illegal?”

Shifting his attitude a tad and allowing a little smile to crack his bleak mood, Jisung tilted his head, an awfully pensive look on his face. 

“You’re going to have to be more specific, Minnie. Are you talking about illegal in the Mundane world or the Shadow world? Not everything matches up for both.”

Maybe he should have tried harder but Seungmin couldn’t do anything to mask the look of slight horror that flashed over his face. It didn’t seem to matter as Jisung hid his face behind his hands once again but allowed small giggles to fall from the spaces between his fingers.

“I’m messing with you, Minnie. No, nothing like that. It’s ok, I’m a big boy, I’ll get over this. Just wish I could get over him a little bit faster.”

Jisung never seemed to notice his little slip in words, saying ‘get over him’ instead of ‘get over it’ but Seungmin didn’t bother to point it out, not fully grasping the situation but getting a faint outline of what had made Jisung so distraught. 

“I have to go and apologise to Bin, huh?”

“You don’t _ have _ to but I think you should and I think you want to as well. You guys love each other far too much to let this hang over your heads.” 

Seeming a tad unsure, Jisung nodded his head, looking rather ashamed that he had acted in such a childish manner and spoken against his _ Parabatai _like that when he most certainly didn’t deserve it. 

“Do you want me to hold your hand?” Seungmin whispered, not trying to make fun of the other but genuinely offering to help his friend with the little rough patch he was going through. After all, that’s what Jisung had been doing for him since he had arrived at the Institute.

Jisung scoffed loudly with an obnoxious roll of his eyes and Seungmin thought that the action pretty much answered his question but as he rose from the bed, he felt fingers slide into and interlock with his own. He turned back to Jisung slinking off of the bed, eyes downcast and cheeks flaring red. 

“Don’t tell Binnie about this, ok? I already get enough shit from him about acting like a kid.”

“Your secret is safe with me, Sungie. Just as all of your other secrets would be if you ever wanted to get them off of your chest.” 

“Thanks, Minnie.”

Seungmin didn’t reply; it wasn’t needed. That was something that he had picked up on since he had met Jisung. Words weren’t required to convey their feelings, something he had never shared with anyone else before but he was glad to have that little connection with Jisung. It was one of the things that had been desperately missing from his life before but he knew he didn’t need to worry about that any longer. 

* * *

After watching the cloudy liquid fall into the ornate, china cups that were reserved for guests, Changbin raised his eyes but not his head to gaze at Felix. The young man was taking in everything around him, except for Changbin. He almost seemed childlike. Giant, inquisitive eyes sparkling as he glanced at the flowers on the table in front of him.

“This arrangement is really beautiful. Zantedeschia Aethiopica, Narcissus and...Helianthus. Well, that is surprising. They are rather difficult to find during this time of year. Oh, Helianthus is another name for a-”

“Sunflower. Yes, I know, Felix. Just like I know that Zantedeschia Aethiopica is the name for a calla lily and Narcissus is a daffodil.”

Eyebrows shooting up in surprise, Felix leaned back on the couch and took in the Shadowhunter in front of him with what could only be described as admiration. 

“Huh, you are certainly full of surprises. Do you grow them yourself?”

Changbin placed the cup in front of Felix, motioning to the sugar and milk that the Faerie held his hand up to as Changbin placed two sugar cubes into his own tea.

“We have a greenhouse out back. We grow an abundance of normal and exotic things out there, a lot of which we give to Minho, the Warlock who was at the meeting last night, for potions and stuff.”

Changbin really couldn’t have missed the little scoff that Felix didn’t try to mask. It was no secret that there had always been a little tension between Faeries and Warlocks, just as there had been some hostility between Werewolves and Vampires. In their long history, Faeries had always looked down upon Warlocks since they would sell their magic for a price, whereas Faeries held that dear to themselves. Not that Warlocks had a particularly soft spot for Faeries either. Most scorned Faeries for their hidebound ideologies and how they tricked and played with humans. 

However, Changbin knew that Felix’s opinion on Warlocks was probably not his own, just the Seelie Queen once again projecting her own ideas onto the innocent and naive Faerie. Changbin would have to sit down and discuss all of this the next time Felix would come and have tea with him.

Next time?

“Anyways! I like to grow flowers and plants as a pastime too. Figured that the Institute could use a bit of life in it.”

“Really? You like cultivating flowers?”

“You sound awfully surprised. Do I not look like I would enjoy something like that?”

“First of all, no. No you don’t.”

There was that stunning honesty coming through again but Changbin couldn’t fault Felix for that. Most people would have assumed that about him based solely on his appearance but that was something that Changbin couldn’t stand: thinking you know everything about a person based on how they presented themselves. Felix wasn’t the first to judge him on his appearance and he was sure that the Faerie wouldn’t be the last.

“Secondly, from what I have heard about humans, they tend not to care about nature at all. Tearing down trees so that they can erect buildings and highways in their place. Letting flowers and shrubbery die because they are too busy to take care of them. Polluting the air and making them sick. It all just seems highly unethical.”

Changbin could see Felix getting upset but of course, he could see where the young man was coming from. Plus, Faeries always had a special connection to nature, could apparently talk to the trees in the wood of their realm, so his anger about humans harming living things like that was more than a little valid. 

“That’s fair enough. You’re right that some humans are apathetic to the world’s situation in that regard but don’t put everyone into that category. Just like I wouldn’t say that every Faerie is a squirming, manipulative asshole.”

The simple comment that Changbin very confidently professed had a powerful effect as it made the Faerie choke on the tea he had just been sipping. Changbin paid him no mind, taking his own cup in his hand and smirking as he raised it to his lips. 

“What you just said, would that not be considered offensive?” 

“Yes, it would be. Well done for picking up on that but you get my point. Don’t assume things about humans and I won’t assume things about Faeries. Ok?”

Composing himself after the initial shock, Felix nodded with hesitancy and turned the box full of treats he had brought along with him towards the Shadowhunter on the other side of the table. Both young men took a strawberry cupcake and bit into the frosting that ended up upon both of their noses. 

“You’ve really only been here once before?” Changbin inquired.

“Yeah, it was...not a pleasant experience,” Felix cringed, fingers tightening around the handle of his cup. 

“I’m sorry to hear that. Um…”

“You wish to know what happened?”

Changbin did but the look on the Faerie’s face let him know that he may not want to divulge that information, especially to someone he had just met.

“Not if you don’t want to talk about it, Felix. It seems like a painful memory.”

“I have always been told it was better to talk about your pain with someone else. You should not hide it or it will fester and grow. Is that not how humans deal with this sort of situation?”

Changbin was about to say that many humans also felt this way but the image of Jisung screaming at him to mind his own business and fuck off as he wallowed in his own agony made his mouth clamp shut again as he just nodded at Felix. 

“I was pretty young at the time. I had just had a fight with my mother about...something.” 

While Felix couldn’t lie, he was able to omit something if he wished to do so. It seemed like, while he was willing to tell Changbin about why he did not visit the human realm more often, he was not about to tell him what this supposed fight was about.

“She always told me that I was not to venture to the human realm on my own for the first time, that it may be dangerous to an inexperienced Faerie but, of course, I did not listen. Wanted to prove that I could do things by myself. I came here but was stupid enough not to put a glamour up.” 

That already made Changbin wince, afraid of how the rest of this story was going to turn out. A glamour could mask many things. In one way, a glamour could disguise places, which is why no Mundane ventured to their Institute, the building being made to look like a derelict warehouse with numerous danger signs in front of it as a warning to keep away to the eyes of Mundanes. In another, and the way which was more pertinent to Felix’s story, a glamour could cloak the features of supernatural creatures and most of them didn’t even need to think about it to constantly keep one up. It disguised them in the eyes of humans around them for their safety and to keep the secret that was their world hidden. However, for a young, inexperienced Felix, that important detail seemed to have slipped his mind, which Changbin knew was a dangerous mistake.

“I was so enthralled by everything. The human realm is so beautiful and vastly different to the Fae one. However, as I walked for a while, I noticed I was getting slightly strange looks from people but I paid them no mind. Then, I came upon a particular group of intoxicated men…”

Changbin set his cup down on the saucer, taking Felix’s out of his hand and doing the same. He feared that if he didn’t, the handle may break off due to the white knuckled grip that the young man had on it. 

“They started calling out to me and shouting horrible names. I think they assumed I was simply a human in some sort of fancy dress. From what I recall, apparently the problem was that I was too effeminate looking for them, like that had any bearing on their lives. They grabbed my arm and started pulling on my wings. They managed to tear it right here, see?”

As Felix extended his wings that shimmered in the light, he gestured to the faint, white scar that ran all the way down the left side of one of them. Faerie’s wings were terribly fragile, even if they managed to carry them when they would fly. They were basically another set of limbs for Faeries and for someone to physically tear one of them must have been excruciatingly painful.

“I tried to get away but there were too many of them. To be honest, I do not remember much after the first couple of hits but I can recall the pain. Once I came to, I had returned to the Fae realm but nobody would tell me what happened after I had fallen unconscious.”

“Felix, that’s awful. I’m so sorry that you had to go through something like that, especially during your first time here.”

The atmosphere that had grown rather chilly in the last few moments seemed to regain some of its warmth as Felix shook his head and resumed drinking his tea.

“It is ok. It was so long ago now but that is why I asked my queen how I should act around you last night. I did not want to say something that may cause the same outcome as last time. Maybe my experience with humans made me subconsciously rude too. I did not mean to be but perhaps my mind acted on it’s own. Since then, humans and their capacity to do terrible things have frightened me. So, I decided not to come here again.”

“That’s completely understandable. Why was it that you came back now?”

“My queen chose me to come and we must always obey her. It is an honour to do so.”

It was no surprise to Changbin that this was the case. That was more or less the code of the Faeries in the Queen’s court. They must protect her with their lives and adhere to her rules to live in her realm but to have no choice when it came to her orders seemed rather terrifying. Not having your own voice in the place that was considered your home just didn’t seem right to Changbin but if that’s how Felix wanted to life his life, the way so many Faeries lived their lives for thousands of years, Changbin had absolutely no right to open his mouth on the subject. 

“I see. Well, if it’s any consolation, I’m glad that you’ve decided to come here for the meetings. I promise that nobody here will treat you badly. You have my word.”

True gratitude was written across Felix’s face, his normally dark brown eyes flashing green for a second as his emotions peaked. 

“Changbin, do you have- oh, sorry, I didn’t realise you had company.” 

Both young men whipped around at the sound of a third voice flowing throughout the room that broke them from their conversation. Seungmin stood in the doorway, beginning to back out but was stopped as he bumped into Jisung who was standing and cowering slightly behind him.

“No, no, it is alright. I must take my leave anyways,” Felix interjected as he quickly finished his tea. “This was...rather pleasant, Changbin. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.”

“My pleasure, Felix. I know you’ll return soon for the meeting but if you want to come back before then and ask more questions about humans, just let me know and we can do this again.”

Felix bowed graciously, an action that made Jisung lift his head over Seungmin’s shoulder and raise an eyebrow at the fact a Faerie was lowering himself before a human. As he began to leave the room, Felix smiled politely at Jisung and Seungmin, also bestowing one last smile upon Changbin before closing the door behind him.

“Do I want to know?” Seungmin queried, nodding in the direction of the door in case Changbin was unsure as to what he meant.

“Later. So, what can I do for you?”

Neither of the young men that had entered the room said anything but as Changbin’s eyes travelled downwards, he noticed Seungmin holding onto Jisung’s hand, slowly rubbing his knuckles and clearly trying to comfort the other as he kept his form hidden behind the redhead. 

“Seungmin, would you give us a minute?”

Changbin saw the younger hesitate a moment as his eyes flashed over to Jisung, almost asking him if it was alright to leave him with Changbin. He thought it was amusing that Seungmin had become so protective over Jisung in the few days that he had been here but he was thankful that this was the case. He knew how much it meant to Jisung that he recaptured the trust that he had shared with Seungmin as kids but it seemed like that wouldn’t be a problem.

In a way, Changbin was sure that Jisung knew that he wasn’t going to start scolding him again for his behaviour, so he simply bobbed his head to show Seungmin that he would be alright by himself and pulled his hand free.

As Seungmin left the room, Changbin exhaled slowly to remind himself to keep calm. He felt his sleeve being tugged on, looking up to see Jisung using his free hand to pull at a loose string on his own t-shirt. Not that it happened all that often but when he and Jisung had an earnest argument, the younger always had a problem voicing his thoughts or saying sorry outright but Changbin knew what it was he wanted to communicate to him just by his little gestures. That’s the way it had always been, even before they had shared the _ Parabatai _rune at the age of sixteen. Changbin knew Jisung too far well at this stage. 

Placing a finger under the younger’s chin, Changbin raised Jisung’s troubled gaze from his shoes to meet his eyes. 

“You ok?” 

“I bite your head off for no reason and the first thing you ask is if I’m ok? You should be yelling at me for acting so immaturely. Don’t permit this kind of behaviour. A real mother wouldn’t do that.”

It was supposed to be a heart to heart moment between two brothers but Jisung always had a knack for lightening any mood with his quick wit. Even if it took some of the heat out of the situation, Changbin felt the need to focus in on the serious side of their argument this time. He didn’t want Jisung to keep enduring this; he could still sense the lingering remnants of the pain the younger had been feeling through their bond. 

“Sungie, come on. Be straight with me for a minute.”

Changbin could already see Jisung’s expression shifting to one of panic, thinking that the interrogation from earlier was going to continue but before that line of thought could take off, Changbin hushed him and rubbed his shoulders.

“You’re ok. I’m...I’m sorry for hounding you like that earlier. As much as it kills me to think about sometimes, you’re an adult now. You can make your own decisions and lead whatever life you want to as long as you’re safe. I don’t need to be a part of every single thing and you are entitled to have some secrets that other people aren’t privy to.”

With his hands still on the younger’s shoulders, Changbin physically felt the nervousness lift from Jisung’s body as he looked at him with such affection, which Changbin was happy to receive.

“Bin, you shouldn’t be apologising to me. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re my big brother, you’re supposed to be a pain in my ass,” Jisung snickered as he saw the urge to smack him silly in Changbin’s eyes. “But really, I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier and I’m sorry for worrying you through the bond. I kind of forgot about it. I didn’t want you to experience pain because of me.”

“Jisung, what I felt from you was a pretty raw emotion. I promise I won’t ask you what you were doing but if I feel this pain too often, I’m going to need you to come clean with me. I don’t want you going through something like that. Just promise me that you’re safe.”

“Yeah, Bin, you don’t have anything to worry about. It was a one time thing, I promise it won’t happen again.” 

Taking that as a good enough compromise for now, Changbin hummed in confirmation, gesturing for Jisung to hug it all out. As he felt a strong grip around his waist, Changbin allowed Jisung’s head to rest upon his shoulder as he leaned in and placed a quick kiss to the side of the younger man’s head. 

Changbin was still troubled by this whole thing. It was his job to keep Jisung safe, it always had been but he simply promised himself that he would keep a better eye on him. Maybe he could figure out what had been upsetting Jisung without the younger having to tell him. He would just have to pay more attention to him from now on. 

Once Jisung finally pulled away from the hug, punching Changbin in the arm as he cleared his throat, both young men headed towards the door and swung it open. Changbin was glad that he had lightning quick reflexes because if he didn’t, he probably wouldn’t have been able to catch Seungmin from falling to the floor since he had so obviously been pressed up against the door to try and listen to their conversation. 

“Hey guys,” Seungmin called out as Changbin was still holding him up by his arms. “Everything ok now?”

“Don’t you know the answer to that already? Hmm, eavesdropper?” 

Deciding against any embarrassment, Seungmin shrugged his shoulders as Changbin helped him into an upright position. 

“Just wanted to make sure I didn’t have to come rushing in and punch some sense into either of you.”

Changbin could tell that Jisung was being pulled between hugging Seungmin or kicking him for his snarkiness. 

“Well, now that all of us are ready, how about we go to Seungmin’s apartment to collect his stuff? You coming, Sung?”

After getting confirmation that he would accompany them, Changbin grabbed the two younger men and headed towards the other end of the city, back to where they had vanquished a terrifying demon and found Seungmin as their reward.


	10. Languish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought you guys might like a little break from listening to that bop of a song. Skz really aren't taking any prisoners when it comes to this comeback, are they? Well, to contrast to the awesomeness of double knot, I bring you a wonderfully angsty chapter today. I say that as if the rest of my writing isn't angsty. A little bit of backstory that some of you have been wondering about. On we go!

_ Chan was an alpha, a fierce leader of many who shouldered so many burdens but they were troubles that he was willing to overcome with his pack and those important to him. There was very little that he felt he couldn’t handle, especially when he had the right people beside him. However, right now, as he made his way to Woojin’s office, something in his stomach told him that he should prepare for an incoming storm, though he wasn’t sure what it was about yet. _

_ During the last couple of days, Woojin had been distant, barely talking to him, let alone visiting him. Everyone in his pack adored Woojin and it wasn’t hard to see why. Sure, he had angel blood within his veins but Chan was sure that wasn’t the reason the young man was so angelic. He knew plenty of Shadowhunters that were more evil than good. Woojin would often be found in their home, talking with the other wolves there, playing with the pups and generally, just being a welcomed presence. Now, nobody had seen him recently and Chan knew that something was terribly wrong. _

_ So, Chan decided to take matters into his own hands and go to Woojin instead. Not like he wasn’t here often anyways but Woojin said that he would be busy this week since he had just been informed that he would be the next head of the Institute but that was another thing that had tipped Chan off that something was wrong. Woojin hadn’t said that to him himself, Jisung had been the one to tell the Werewolf that his mate would hold such an auspicious position. In a way, it annoyed him that Woojin couldn’t be bothered to tell him himself, like he wasn’t important enough to hear about this amazing news. That was one of the points that Chan was going to bring up soon as he knocked on the Shadowhunter’s door. _

_ “Yes?” _

_ There was a strange tiredness in Woojin’s voice that wasn’t usually present but Chan assumed that this is what came along with his new position. If he was even supposed to know about it... _

_ “Hey, sweetheart. Mind if I come in?” Chan chimed as he poked his head in the door, making Woojin sit up straighter in his chair. _

_ “Chan, what are you doing here?” _

_ Chan? Not Channie? Woojin always called him Channie, even if they were arguing with each other. Majority of the time, it was just one of them telling the other to relax and stop working so much. That always ended with them apologising to each other for worrying their other half but now...something was wrong. Very, very wrong. _

_ “Am I not allowed to come and visit my mate? Haven’t seen you in a few days. Thought you might be lonely without me.” _

_ While he called Woojin his mate, Chan hadn’t bestowed the bite that usually came along with this title. A mating bite was permanent, something that couldn’t be undone and to a Werewolf, it was the most important thing that they would ever do in their life. While a human could walk away from being bitten and find another partner, a wolf would be tied to them forever. Not being with your mate for an exponential amount of time would cause the wolf to lose strength, like their life was being sapped away from them. That’s why they were taking things slow, even though Chan was sure that Woojin was the one he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. But now... _

_ Closing the book on his desk, almost _ slamming _ the book on his desk, Woojin tried to hold Chan’s stare but instead decided to turn it towards the window to his left. Why wouldn’t he look at him? _

_ “I’ve been busy, Chan.” _

_ “Yes, getting ready for your new position as head of the Institute, right?” _

_ Still not turning his gaze towards Chan but holding his breath at the Werewolf’s words, Woojin’s whole manner shifted to a guarded one and this let Chan know immediately that it hadn’t been a mistake that Woojin hadn’t let him know about his promotion. He hadn’t wanted Chan to know about it. _

_ “Didn’t think I was wise to that information, did you? Sungie told me all about it but I am curious as to why you didn’t tell me yourself.” _

_ “I forgot to tell you. Just slipped my mind,” Woojin replied without a hint of remorse. _

_ It was a rare occurrence but Chan was getting increasingly exasperated at Woojin’s attitude towards him. _

_ “Wooj, if you’re going to lie to me like that, at least try and be more convincing. What the hell is up with you?” _

_ “Chan, can you just go? I’m really not in the mood to deal with you right now.” _

_ Deal with him? That kind of stung. When did Woojin ever have to _ deal _ with him? He never felt pressured to spend time with Woojin, like it was a chore to be with him in any way but from the sounds of it, the feeling wasn’t mutual. _

_ “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?" Chan tried jokingly. “Sweetheart, seriously, what’s bothering you?” _

_ Gently cupping the elder man’s cheeks in his strong hands, Chan forcefully directed Woojin’s face towards him. Chan could always tell how Woojin was feeling simply by staring into his eyes, reading the emotions that lay deep within. _

_ But, usually, Woojin would fall into the touch, savour the feeling of Chan’s skin on his but for the first time, he pulled away, grabbing Chan’s hands to push them back down to his side. _

_ “Chan, I told you to go. For once in your life, can you listen to me and stop doing whatever the hell you want?” _

_ Enough was enough. Chan wasn’t going to stand here and be spoken to like this, even if it was his mate. He had never seen Woojin like this before; it was like he wasn’t the man he had fallen in love with and it scared him. It _ terrified _ him. It was like Woojin had changed overnight. He was acting cruel, insensitive, detached. He was acting...like his father. _

_ “No, I’m not going anywhere! Why are you speaking to me like that? I haven’t done anything to deserve it. What’s your problem?” _

_ “You are the only problem I have right now, Chan.” _

_ Something snapped within him, he wasn’t sure what it was but hearing Woojin attack him like this when he was just trying to help his mate with whatever he was going through made Chan ready to go on a rampage. _

_ “Are you fucking kidding me?” Chan raged as he grabbed onto Woojin’s wrist and turned him around. “I came here because I missed you and wanted to congratulate you on your new position. Why are you picking a fight with me? Why are you acting like such an asshole? Have you seen the old Woojin? Because I would certainly prefer him over whoever I’m speaking to now!” _

_ “I’ve had enough of this. We’re done.” _

_ Woojin yanked his hand away, ignoring the small growl that Chan let go at the action. The Werewolf was never aggressive towards him; he was always in complete control of his wolf. However, the warning that Chan emitted just now was sure to let Woojin know that he was not playing around. _

_ “No, we’re not done here, Wooj. We’re going to talk about this.” _

_ “No, Chan. I mean I’ve had enough of this,” Woojin seethed as he gestured between the two of them. “I’ve had enough of us.” _

_ That was what made Chan’s whole world come crashing down. They had fought before but it had never escalated to something like this. Every ounce of anger vanished from the Werewolf’s body as his mouth tried to fire back and tell Woojin that he didn’t want this. He didn’t want to let Woojin go. The Shadowhunter was everything to him, his entire world, his entire universe and suddenly, Woojin wanted to cut their ties, like the last two years of their lives together meant absolutely nothing to him. That’s what the look on the elder’s face told him, as well as the complete lack of scent coming from the Shadowhunter. _

_ “No, Wooj, wait,” Chan begged, stepping closer to Woojin as tried to block his path when the elder headed for the door. “You don’t mean that. It’s just the heat of the moment. Come on, we can get through this. Don’t...don’t do this.” _

_ “You want to know why I didn’t tell you about me becoming head of the Institute? It’s because I was more preoccupied thinking about a way to end this. I was contemplating how I could do it gently but your annoying, pushy self couldn’t just leave well enough alone. Forget it, it doesn’t matter now.” _

_ It didn’t matter. That sounded an awful lot like Chan didn’t matter. He wasn’t worth an explanation. Woojin had never insulted him like that before. Woojin never ever said a bad word against Chan. With each one of the Shadowhunter’s words, a piece of Chan’s heart was being chipped away and he was sure that, if their conversation kept going in this direction, there would be nothing left by the time he departed the Institute. He needed to change the tide, to get Woojin to tell him what the problem was so that he could fix it and things could go back to the way they were. _

_ “Wooj, please. Tell me why. You can’t just end this without giving me a reason.” _

_ Chan kept trying to hold onto Woojin, to touch his face, to grasp his hands, to run his fingers through his hair. He was ready to get on his knees and beg, a humiliating act for a wolf, especially an alpha but he would do it for Woojin if it meant he could keep him in his life. _

_ “I need to focus on the job.” _

_ “Bullshit, Woojin! Our relationship has never gotten in the way of either of our jobs before. We’ve always made it work. Tell me the real reason!” _

_ As his anger levels rose, Chan unknowingly began to shift. Silver tufts that soon turned into ears sat upon his head. Pointed canines fell past his lips and began to pierce the flesh. Eyes of blue slowly turned to a deep scarlet, full of danger and vexation. He was beginning to lose his senses and he was unsure if he would be able to keep control. _

_ It seemed that Woojin had the same fear as the first hint of a distressed scent began to flow through the area. The Shadowhunter’s eyes widened ever so slightly as he tried to escape the room without giving the answers Chan was looking for. As he reached for the handle, the alpha grabbed him and backed him up against the door, hands on either side to cage him in. Chan wasn’t going to let him go, not without a reason. _

_ “Woojin! Tell me the fucking truth!” _

_ “I don’t love you anymore, Chan!” _

_ And that was it. The most devastating thing Chan could have ever heard. Those were not the words that he had expected to fall from Woojin’s lips. In the back of his mind, he was honestly expecting Woojin to burst out laughing before hugging him tight, to tell him that this was all some sort of cruel joke. _

_ But it never came. This was real. Too real. He didn’t want this. It was painful. It was excruciating. He was sure dying wouldn’t hurt this much. _

_ Woojin’s expression never flickered, never gave a hint of weakness as he stared at Chan with a taught glare. Lips unmoving and eye burning with a harsh fire. _

_ “Y-yes you do. You love me. You told me that you would always love me. That’s not-” _

_ “The real reason? Yes, it is. You wanted it and now you have it,” Woojin scoffed, ducking underneath Chan’s arm and coming face to face with the younger. _

_ “Stop saying stuff like that…” _

_ “Chan, you need to accept this. Take time and move on,” Woojin sighed with irritation, opening the door. “Besides, someone in my position could never be with someone like you.” _

_ Someone like him. _

_ Chan didn’t even need to ask what that meant. _

_ Someone like him. _

_ He knew exactly what Woojin was trying to insinuate. _

_ Someone like him. _

_ It had never mattered to the Shadowhunter what he was in all the time they had been together. _

_ Someone like him. _

_ So, why now? As a Shadowhunter, it didn’t matter but as head of the Institute, Woojin couldn’t be seen with… _

_ Someone like him. _

_ “Sorry it has to be this way, Chan. I wanted to do this differently but it’s over now I guess.” _

_ The unsaid ‘and we’re over too’ lingered in the air and added insult to injury. Woojin didn’t love him anymore. Chan didn’t know if that was truly the reason but all he could hear was the phrase over and over again in his head until he truly started to believe it. Woojin didn’t love him anymore, no matter how much Chan loved him. _

_ “I’ll see you at the next meeting, Chan. Feel free to come around to see Sungie and Bin but as for us…” _

_ Chan didn’t remember much after that. He vaguely recalled walking out of Woojin’s office and the door banging shut behind him. He was pretty sure that he managed to get home without too much of a problem, his alpha instincts knowing the way. He definitely remembered the tears running down his face throughout the night and the following days. _

_ Jisung and Changbin had tried to contact him a number of times, even coming to his home in an attempt to talk to him, to figure out what happened but how could he explain when he wasn’t even sure himself? He told his pack that he didn’t want to see anyone, even two of his closest friends. He didn’t want to see anybody. After a while, they stopped coming, realising that it was futile when they weren’t being granted access to the house. Chan didn’t want to treat them that way but he just couldn’t find the strength to face them. He really couldn’t find the strength to do anything. _

_ The next time he saw them was at a meeting at the Institute a few weeks later, both rushing to their friend with urgency, hugging him tight, with Jisung demanding to know what happened. _

_ What else could he say? He told them that it was a mutual breakup, something that they both wanted and he could see that they didn’t believe him. He never thought to check what it was that Woojin had told them but he didn’t want to tell them the truth either. Because… _

_ He still loved Woojin. He didn’t want to hurt the young man. He didn’t want to turn their friends against him. _

_ Chan wanted Woojin to be happy, even if he wasn’t. _

_ Over time, he was hoping it would fade and while it didn’t disappear, something grew within him and sat right alongside all of his other feelings. _

_ Spite. _

_ It was something that flourished against his will. He couldn’t look at Woojin the same way. It was a constant battle within his chest. Wanting to make Woojin content for the rest of his life, just like he had always promised he would but at the same time, hoping that he never found that happiness again after the way he had treated him. An internal struggle that he was always fighting, with no chance of winning. _

“-an?”

_ Woojin didn’t love him anymore. What could he do about that? Nothing, except move on. _

“Chan?”

_ Now, he was just another Downworlder to the Shadowhunter. Someone he did business with. Nothing more. Chan had accepted that. _

“Chan? Hello?”

_ That was his old life. He needed to focus on his pack now. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else should. Especially not him. But the way Woojin had spoken to him at the Institute yesterday, it was like he was speaking to the Shadowhunter’s old self and it was so- _

“Channie?”

Coming out of his maze of memories, Chan’s head shot up at the familiar nickname, his mind associating it with one person in particular, someone he had no business thinking about anymore. 

Instead, he saw a set of curious blue eyes staring back at him, a worried frown asking him silently if he was ok.

“Why do always respond to that name? It’s a sure fire way to get your attention,” Jeongin chuckled as he took a seat on the other side of Chan’s desk and pulled his long legs up to his chest. 

The elder Werewolf smiled brightly at Jeongin, getting up from his chair to offer the younger a glass of soda from his fridge, which Jeongin took with thanks. 

“What’s up, pup?”

“Ah, can you seriously stop calling me that? Especially in front of people. It’s so embarrassing…”

“Why? You are a pup. A whole baby. My little baby Innie,” Chan squealed as he reached over the desk to pinch both of Jeongin’s cheeks. 

“Not a baby. I’m twenty one. Only four years younger than you. You keep choosing to ignore that!” Jeongin huffed as he scrunched his nose up and took a sip of his favourite soda. Chan always knew to keep some in stock since Jeongin would come to chat with him often. 

The alpha Werewolf was about to say that he would always be his baby but in the end, decided against it. Saying such things would always remind Jeongin of his family, about that horrific night, so Chan kept his mouth firmly shut to ensure that beautiful smile remained on Jeongin’s face. 

“So, why are you here, Innie? I would like to think that it’s simply to see me but I have the strangest feeling you want something else.” 

“Oh?” Jeongin snickered with a surprised tone. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, there were a few things that gave you away,” Chan began as he got up from his chair to round his desk. “Firstly, you bob your legs up and down when you’re nervous.”

Jeongin looked down at his own legs and placed his hands upon both of his knees when he realised he was subconsciously moving them.

“Secondly, your scent is giving off a slight distress signal. Not enough that you feel like you’re in danger but enough to know you’re not completely at ease.”

While he had been able to stop his physical ministrations, masking his scent was something that he had not yet learned to control. Chan was teaching him everything after all. He was still very new to this whole Werewolf thing.

“And lastly,” Chan laughed as he began to scratch the top of the younger’s head, making Jeongin let out a happy little purr, much to his own embarrassment. “You’re tail just popped out, pup. I see we still need to work on that part of control.” 

After a little yelp of surprise, Jeongin’s hands flew down to cover his sandy tail that had sprouted form his backside against his will. 

“It’s ok, Innie. I told you that all of this will take time but I also told you that you can come to me about absolutely anything. Come on, why are you nervous?”

“I...I wanted to ask you if I could join the patrols. You know, the ones you are going to send out to help with the increase in demonic activity?” 

That surprised Chan immensely. He honestly hadn’t expected Jeongin to request something like that. The younger Werewolf was still unsure and skittish about pretty much everything this life had to offer. He barely spoke to or interacted with the other members of the pack; though, he knew that wasn’t entirely Jeongin’s fault either. Some of the other wolves were being snobbish, not wanting to take on the responsibility of an inexperienced new member. Chan had warned them to treat him well but he felt like he would have to sit individual people down and sternly tell them again. 

Jeongin didn’t seem like the type to want to go into the battlefield. Chan had barely begun to teach him how to attack, even if they had covered self defense techniques. However, he could see the determination in the young man’s eyes, one that showed he wanted to help his pack, his new family. 

“Are you sure you want to do something like this, Innie?”

“A-absolutely!” Jeongin stammered, seemingly stunned that Chan hadn’t turned his request down outright. 

“Alright, if you’re sure. I’ll put you with someone experienced. That’s what I do for all new members for their first time on the field. That’s not to say I don’t trust-”

Chan didn’t get to finish his speech before Jeongin’s arms were firmly wrapped around his neck, a million ‘thank you’s” repeatedly hitting his ears as he was swayed from side to side. 

He would always be watchful over Jeongin, as he was of all of the pups in his pack. There were eighteen wolves that were younger than him, many more being around the same age and a few being older and as an alpha, he always made sure that they were safe, his top priority. That also included Jeongin’s safety. His protective instincts were strong over the younger and he wouldn’t be able to help that after what Jeongin had gone through but he knew not to smother him and keep him locked up in the house either. That would cause him to hate Chan and he certainly didn’t want that.

Nothing was said at first when Chan moved to pat the younger’s head, feeling two pointed ears sticking out from the sides and flicking in different directions to signal his happiness. 

“Oh, pup, it seems like we have a hell of a lot to work on…” 

* * *

“I would say make yourselves at home but I guess this isn’t really my home anymore.”

Seungmin opened the door wide so that Jisung and Changbin could walk into his apartment. They had all been here together before but under some very different circumstances. 

The air seemed different, disturbed and Seungmin felt his skin crawl as he thought about the last memories that this place held for him. The youngest walked into his kitchen, noticing the chaos that they had left behind. Chairs were strewn about, the marks from where demon’s tail swept across the ground still embedded in the wood. The knife that Seungmin had used to defend himself was partially hidden under the fridge after it had been knocked from his hand by the beast. A pool of dried blood dirtied the rug and the black marks from the monster’s venom scorched the ground. Seungmin was more than thankful that he had managed to survive after the same substance had invaded his veins. 

“Oh my god!” 

Changbin immediately drew his weapons at Jisung’s screams, pointing his dual pistols at the unseen threat. Seungmin was rather surprised at himself when he too jumped into a fighting stance, ready to defend himself with fists raised. Not that he really needed to react that way.

“Aren’t you the cutest little thing in the entire world?!” 

Changbin exhaled heavily and holstered his weapons when he saw Jisung cuddling a small, Abyssinian cat in his arms. It surprised Seungmin slightly that Bomi, the stray cat he used to feed, was allowing Jisung to hold her since she wasn’t all that fond of people but it shocked him even more that she was nuzzling into his cheek and letting out content noises at his squeals of delight.

“Damn it, Sung. Don’t yell so loudly when it’s silent, especially where a demon attack just occurred. Scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry, Bin but look at this baby! She just walked in through the open window. Is she yours, Minnie? What’s her name?” Jisung giggled as the feline licked his nose. 

“I call her Bomi. As far as I know, she’s a stray, no collar or anything. I feed her every so often when she feels like showing up. She's been popping around ever since I moved in but she’s not usually this friendly around other people. She likes you, Sungie.”

Hearing that he was a special case when it came to Bomi’s temperament, Jisung squeaked even louder and asked Seungmin if he could feed her. The latter lead all of them back into the kitchen to show Jisung where the food for Bomi was, letting the elder take it from there.

“I wonder if you were the one we heard making all of that fuss on the night of the attack.”

As he removed the spoiled food from the refrigerator, Seungmin raised his head at Jisung’s curious words. 

“What do you mean?”

“Bin and I had been chasing that Nimh demon that attacked you through the streets but we lost its trail just outside,” Jisung explained as he emptied the tin of chicken flavoured cat food into Bomi’s bowl. 

“We were about to run off and try to find it again but we heard a cat meowing like crazy. Bin told me to ignore it but when I tried to follow the sound, I looked up and could see traces of the venom on the fire escape right outside your window. Figured it might have changed it’s direction and gone up instead of forwards. We didn’t find the cat in the end but we did find the demon...and you. If it was Bomi crying back then, she most definitely saved your life.”

Trying to remember the events of that night, Seungmin did recall that he had been feeding Bomi just before he had been attacked. She had hissed at the demon before bolting out the open window. It could have been plausible that she tried to alert someone that he was being harmed but he wondered why a stray cat would ever do something like that, if she would even been smart enough to do something like that.

“Weird, huh?” Seungmin pondered as he gazed at the feline happily lapping up her meal.

“Or lucky. Either way, you managed to make it out alive thanks to her. If she didn’t give the signal, we may never have known about you,” Changbin laughed airily before asking Seungmin where the bedroom was. The redhead directed him to where he was to go, stopping to pet Bomi before following him in.

He picked up his phone that he had left on his bedside locker, plugging it into his charger when he realised it had run out of battery in the few days he had been gone. When it came to life, it didn’t shock him all that much when he only saw one message asking him of his whereabouts. His boss sent him a text that simply said:

_ ‘If you plan on missing work again tomorrow, don’t bother coming in the next day.’ _

Such heartwarming concern on his part but Seungmin expected nothing less. He replied with a direct and straightforward message saying:

_ ‘Thank you for everything. Unfortunately, I will not be returning as some personal matters will prevent me from doing so. I wish you and your business the best of luck in the future.’ _

He could have been rude since he probably wouldn’t have too many interactions with the man in the future but in fairness, his boss had given him a job when nobody else would, when Seungmin was down on his luck, even if the man was an asshole to him a lot of the time. 

“You’ve lived here all by yourself this whole time?” Changbin asked as he placed one of the duffle bags he brought with him on the bed.

“Yup, ever since I left the children’s home at nineteen. It’s not much but I never really had a whole lot else. Well, from what I remember.” 

As Seungmin continued to play with his phone, he suddenly remembered the two numbers that sat in his pocket. Fishing them out, he put them into his contacts and opened up his inbox.

_ To: Innie _

_ 'Hi, Jeongin. This is Seungmin. Figured I should send you a message seeing as I never gave you my number in return. Anytime you want to talk or meet up, just text this number. I may be busy at times but I will always make sure to get back to you as soon as I can.' _

He figured that would do for their first correspondence and that Jeongin would eventually reply. 

The other number in his palm required a bit of a different approach, Seungmin thought but he wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. 

_ To: Hyunjin _

_ 'Hey there, Hyunjin. This is Seungmin. You know, the idiotic Shadowhunter with a boring ass story to tell you? Anyways, figured I should just let you know what number to contact me if you should need me. Not that you need me, of course but if you wanted to chat. Yeah, I’m gonna leave it at that before I prove to you that I am an idiot, despite what you may think.' _

Seungmin’s cheeks flared a little, drowning in embarrassment as he sent the message. He had never tried to flirt before, he didn’t even know if he _ should _be flirting. Sure, Jisung had encouraged him to go for it but maybe Seungmin had just read all of the signals wrong, maybe Hyunjin wasn’t interested. He also thought about the fact that he knew absolutely nothing about Vampires. Jisung had explained almost every other Downworlders’ abilities and personalities but Hyunjin had been late and he had never gotten to ask him about himself. 

Before he could think any further in the subject, his phone went off, signaling a reply to one of the messages he just sent. 

_ From: Innie _

_ 'Hi, Seungmin! Thank you for the message. I was beginning to think I gave you my number for nothing. That’s alright, I will probably be in the same position with regards to replying. I’m glad I finally have a friend to speak with. Oh, I’ve been dying to tell someone about this! Chan is going to let my go out on patrol with the rest of the pack to monitor the demonic activity. I’m really excited to help the pack out. Finally. Maybe sometime we can go on patrol together! If you’d like. I’d better go, Chan is calling me to go train. Bye, Seungmin! ' _

The optimism that came through the message made Seungmin smile as he placed the phone back down on his desk. He too was rather glad he had a new friend to confide in. He could reply to Jeongin later at a better time. 

“Hey, am I going to be doing all the work here?” 

Seungmin muttered small apologies as he saw Changbin tapping his foot like an irritated old woman. They began filling the bags with clothes, books and trinkets that Seungmin had around his room. They never saw Jisung in this time, only hearing little praises from the living room like ‘oh, you’re such a beautiful girl’ or ‘wow, you must have been really hungry, cutie’, making both Changbin and Seungmin smile at how much the young man was playfully fussing over the feline. Changbin mentioned that he was glad Jisung was distracted; he usually ended up creating more work when it came to things like this. 

As they finished up in the bedroom, Seungmin slung one of the bags over his shoulder and grabbed his phone which started to vibrate when he picked it up. 

_ From: Hyunjin _

_ 'Minnie, will you stop calling yourself an idiot? It’s like you want me to think that. You never know, I might need you at some point. In fact, I think I’ll need you tonight. How about going to grab a drink with me? If you’re not too busy to see me, that is. I can come to the Institute to pick you up around 6? How does that sound? ' _

Nearly dropping the bag full of his belongings, Seungmin let out a little gasp at the boldness of Hyunjin. He really didn’t hold anything back when it came to something like this. 

“Seungmin, you ok?” Changbin asked, a worried scowl set upon his face. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m good. We don’t have any plans this evening, right?”

“We just have the training drills but we should be finished by three or four and then you’re free to do whatever you want. Why?”

“Hyunjin asked me to go for a drink.”

Another scream from Jisung echoed throughout the apartment but it had nothing to do with the cat that was currently curled up in his lap this time. She didn’t even flinch when he yelled out loud. 

“I knew it! I saw the way he looked at you! Oh my god! Our Minnie has a date!” 

While Changbin playfully strangled Jisung, telling him to quieten down and stop disturbing the neighbours, which earned him a little hiss from Bomi, Seungmin shook his head and typed in his reply before moving over to the quarreling young men.

_ To: Hyunjin _

_ 'Sure, that sounds great.' _


	11. Amelioration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so busy this week that I basically got nothing written but I'm managing to keep a little bit ahead with my writing so I still have a chapter for you guys today. Hope it's ok. Enjoy!

“Sungie, does it ever enter your head to try and stick to even one of the rules that the Institute has set out?” 

Changbin had tried to tell him. He had  _ tried  _ to tell Jisung that there was a strict ‘no animals’ rule when it came to the Institute and that he could not bring Bomi back with him. He had tried and tried to tell him that Woojin would be against the idea; he had to be as head of the Institute. But did he listen? Of course not. When did Jisung ever listen to him? 

“Wooj, come on. You look into this sweet little girl's eyes and tell her that she has to go back to living a lonely life on the streets. Tell her that we could have offered her a place to stay but the old fashioned rules that were set up by a bunch of ancient geezers way back when are the only thing preventing her from living a lavish life with us. Go on, tell her!” 

Trying to contain his laughter as he linked arms with Seungmin, who was having the same problem hiding his giggles, Changbin saw it in Woojin’s eyes that Jisung’s power of softening his heart was slowly starting to work. 

“Bomi, I’m terribly sorry that this psychotic man has tried to kidnap and imprison you in our constrictive Institute. Unfortunately, it seems like the safeguard I put in to stop him from doing stupid stuff like this didn’t work either,” Woojin commented snarkily as he shot Changbin a glare for allowing Jisung to bring a cat back to the Institute in the first place. 

The raven haired man simply shrugged, happy to see that Woojin was no longer in a bad place, for the time being anyways. 

It had been a rather long night for Changbin as he held Woojin in his arms and tried to comfort his brother when he strayed to the darkest corners of his heart. There had been many hours of Changbin reassuring him, telling Woojin that, somehow, things would work out in the end. It didn’t stop Woojin’s tears or his heart wrenching sobs because, as Changbin knew, Woojin didn’t believe any of that for a single second. 

When the elder had eventually drifted off, dried tear tracks streaking his beautiful face, Changbin stayed awake for another hour or two, thinking about ways that he could fix this, just as he did every time Woojin would come to him for comfort but in the end, he didn’t come up with anything, not that he ever did. He fell into a deep sleep at some point, only awakening when he heard a gentle knock upon his door. As he went to open it, he noticed that he had been alone, Woojin nowhere to be seen. The elder usually left before the sun rose since he didn’t want anyone wondering why it was that he had to sleep in Changbin’s room. After Changbin had found Seungmin on the other side of the door asking where Jisung was, the previous night had all but been forgotten. 

“Excuse me, I am  _ not  _ psychotic. If I was, I would have killed all of you a long time ago,” Jisung sassed as he cradled Bomi in his arms. “Wooj, please. I promise I’ll take care of her all by myself. I’ll feed her and clean up after her. You won’t even know she’s here.  _ Please _ …”

“He sounds like a kid asking his parent to keep a stray,” Seungmin snickered as he took in the scene in front of him but Changbin really didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was pretty much correct on that front. Ever since Jisung had lost both of his parents, Woojin had been the prominent authority figure in his life. He had looked after Jisung like he was his brother but sometimes, he had to take on a fatherly role too.

“You can drop those puppy eyes, Sung. They stopped working on me a long time ago,” Woojin cautioned as he crossed his arms and shook his head at the pouting young man with the meowing feline in his arms. “If I lose my job, just know it’s because of you and that damn cat.”

With eyes holding a thousand stars that lit up at Woojin’s words, Jisung gave the elder a quick hug but pulled away instantly when a soft whine came from Bomi as she was squished between the two men. 

“Thank you, Wooj! You won’t have to worry about her at all. Come on, Bomi. Let’s go order some stuff for your new home!” Jisung exclaimed as he ran towards his room with the cat laying her head on his shoulder and purring extremely loudly. 

“It’s not the cat I’m worried about,” Woojin trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

It was never a secret that Woojin was stressed because of his job but Jisung never added to that, no matter how much Woojin pretended he did. The elder would do absolutely anything to make Jisung happy, to make any of his friends happy and if that meant breaking a few insignificant rules here and there, then there wasn’t even a question that he would do it. 

“Wooj, are you busy right now?” Changbin blurted, drawing the other’s attention back to him.

“No, not yet. I have a few calls to make later but nothing right now. Why?”

“Wanna come and oversee Seungmin’s training after we drop his stuff off in his room?”

Seungmin was squirming a little where he stood, obviously a little nervous that two esteemed Shadowhunters would be keeping an eye on him while he learned. In a way, he knew that this way would be better, that they would make sure he was learning correctly and that he wouldn’t hurt himself but in another, he didn’t want to screw up in front of them and embarrass himself.

Feeling a hand upon his shoulder, Seungmin looked up to meet Woojin’s encouraging stare.

“That sounds like fun. We’ll help you out, Seungmin. Make you the best Shadowhunter there ever was.” 

“That may be a hard feat,” Seungmin chuckled nervously. 

“Well, we’ll never know until we try. Come on, I’ll show you the training hall. You’ll be spending a lot of time here in the next few weeks.”

Seungmin’s heart and mind felt more at ease as Woojin took his hand, with Changbin on his left rubbing his free arm. His nervousness was starting to dissipate before it was replaced with a hot flush of bashfulness.

“Oh, Wooj, did you hear Seungmin has a date later?”

“Changbin!”

* * *

“Felix, you may approach.”

After spending such a pleasant morning with Changbin, much to his own surprise, Felix had been called upon by the Seelie Queen to speak about what they had discussed in the meeting last night. He had been told the previous evening that she had been too busy to see him when he had returned, which really meant she just didn’t want to. 

“Well, how did that insignificant meeting with those... _ Shadowhunters  _ go,” she asked, not masking the way she turned her nose up when she spoke of the warriors that Felix had met last night. 

The Queen’s abruptness didn’t shock Felix; it wasn’t a secret that she looked down upon Shadowhunters, most Faeries did but after last night, Felix couldn’t understand why. When the lavender haired man tried to meet her eyes, he noticed she wasn’t even paying that much attention to him, too busy fixing her hair in the reflective surface to her left. 

“It went well, my queen. I learned much of the plight that the human realm is facing with regards to the demons. They have asked for our help regarding the matter and I thought it considerate to offer our assistance in closing up the rifts that have been opening and letting the demons in.” 

“Humph, of course they need our help. Such helpless creatures humans are,” the woman scoffed as the golden ringlets fell from her fingers onto the sides of her face. 

From what Felix had seen, humans weren’t helpless; nobody was if they asked for assistance every now and then. Sometimes it was required. The Warlock, Vampire and Werewolf leaders didn’t seem to have any qualms about aiding the Shadowhunters, so did the Seelie Queen have to make such a big deal out of it?

Another point of importance found its way to Felix’s lips and he wasn’t going to hide the thought away. He wished to know the answer. Though, in a way, he figured he already knew. 

“My queen, pardon me if I am speaking out of turn but why did you tell me to act in such a way towards the Shadowhunters? After speaking with one of them, he told me I was being rude. I did not wish to come off that way but…” 

“Oh, come now, Felix. It was a simple game. Technically, it wasn’t a lie. It would be impossible for me to say such a thing if it wasn’t true. I have seen many humans treat each other in such a way. A lamentable misfortune that these particular humans saw you as rude instead.”

While Felix knew he was slightly naive about many aspects of life since he had spent the vast majority of his only living in the Fae realm, he was not stupid enough to believe everything that the Queen told him. Even though she could not lie, she had so much experience in twisting her words that she could fool just about anyone. He was also wise to the fact that she always had it out for him, more than anything because of his heritage. 

While his mother had been a part of the Seelie Queen’s court, his father had been a Wild Faerie whom his mother had met during a short stay in the human realm. They had shared a fleeting romance before they both returned to their respective homes. Only after a few weeks did Felix’s mother realise she was pregnant with him, afraid and unsure of their future since his father was not a part of the Queen’s court. 

Of course, his mother was punished for her ‘mishap’ as the Queen had called it. She was released from the court and ordered to live in the outer circle of their realm, amongst the common folk. However, it was commanded that Felix was to serve in her stead. He was to live in the court when he came of age and could only see his mother every so often when he had some spare time when the Queen didn’t need him. It killed him a little bit but his mother always said that if she was given the chance to rewrite history, she wouldn’t change a thing. She had loved his father, even if they knew their worlds could not remain together and if she had never had the chance to love him, then Felix never would have been brought into the world. That would be something she could never regret, for Felix was everything to her. 

So, he did as he was told. He stayed with the Queen and did her bidding, even if he was looked down upon by her and the rest of the court because of who he was. However, in instances like this, he felt more pissed off than anything, that the Queen thought he could be pushed around like a plaything for her amusement. She knew exactly what she was doing when she sent him to the meeting and told him to act in such a way. Just a little bit of fun for her, even if it showed Felix in an unfavourable light. He was thankful that Changbin had not been so hurt that he had hated him. He would have been terribly wounded by that because, after their chat, he realised that Changbin, as well as the others, were quite lovely. 

“Of course, my queen. You wouldn’t send me there to simply start a fight with the Shadowhunters, would you?”

Felix got the answer he was looking for when he raised his head as he knelt to see the woman smiling at him with an eyebrow raised. That was exactly the reason she had sent him but she couldn’t say that it hadn’t been without the lie scorching her throat. 

“Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, my queen. I shall be leaving to visit my mother this afternoon. I will also continue to attend the meetings at the Institute and report what we discussed. If you should need me-”

“I’ll know exactly where to find you, Felix,” the Queen interrupted as she waved him off with her manicured hand, her face already directed back to the mirror to stare at her own reflection. How narcissistic, Felix thought but he would never say the truth out loud like that. 

Felix bowed politely before turning on his heel and passing the numerous guards that were situated around her throne situated in the middle of the vast wood. 

He could have lingered on the unpleasant conversation for some time more but decided against it and let his thoughts float to his mother instead, the excitement of seeing her after so many weeks making him practical giddy. It would take a good two days to walk to her house on the outskirts of the forest but that was one of the greatest things about being a Faerie for Felix, that he didn’t have to walk anywhere he did not wish to walk.

Extending the fantastical wings that shimmered under the sun’s rays, Felix walked to the edge of the cliff where he spent most of his mornings and evenings watching the sun go up and down. Leaning forwards, he began to freefall from the heights, letting his wings catch the wind to carry him home. He would be there in a couple of hours, to spend time with the only family he held so dear. For now, he would let the blissful wind clear his thoughts but one memory in particular wouldn’t seem to shift, the one thing he couldn’t wait to tell his mother about: how his second and third time in the human realm were a much better experience than his first. All because of the intriguing Shadowhunter with a green thumb who scolded him for not being polite. 

* * *

“Go ahead and choose your training sword. Figure we should get you used to fighting with a blade before any other weapons.”

Seungmin did as he was told, grasping the weapon in his hand and weighing the heaviness of it. He had never attempted something like this; he had barely gotten into a verbal fight before. But he felt like this was something he could do. Self confidence was never a strong suit for Seungmin but the belief that his friends had in him gave him the energy he needed to persevere. 

Seeing Changbin stretching his arms above his head, Seungmin couldn’t help but admire the elder’s physique. The Shadowhunter had discarded his jacket, only to be left in sweatpants and a tank top. Seungmin knew that he was on the slight, lanky side of the scale but Changbin was on a whole other spectrum. While the elder may have been an inch or two shorter than him, his chest and upper arms were a lot more defined, highlighting the well developed muscles; Seungmin had no doubt this was from all the training. 

“Hey, eyes up here!”

Changbin began laughing without restraint when Seungmin’s eyes widened, realising he wasn’t subtle in any way about staring at him. 

“Shut up. Come on then, start your teaching.” 

“Woah, hold on. First you need to do some warm up exercises,” Woojin snorted at Seungmin’s enthusiasm and gestured for him to leave down his training sword. 

“Ok, first we start with jumping jacks,” Changbin instructed as he grabbed Seungmin’s wrist and brought him to the center of the training ring. 

“Seriously? Jumping jacks? This is the amazing training program for Shadowhunters? I somehow thought it would be different.” 

Both Changbin and Woojin raised their eyebrows, waiting for Seungmin to say he expected something more ‘supernatural’.

“The training will be different, Seungmin. Our bodies are the same as regular humans and need to be warmed up. Anyways, no interrupting. I’m adding another 20 jacks because of your backtalk. Go on.” 

Seungmin’s jaw dropped at Changbin’s change in demeanor, frowning at Woojin as he began to laugh and walk away to sit on the sidelines. 

“Oh, by the way, Seungmin, Changbin may be the best of the best when it comes to training but he is a tough, unforgiving asshole too. We probably should have mentioned that.” 

Opening is mouth to reply, Seungmin never got any further when Changbin raised his finger to silence him and motioned for him to begin.

It was fifteen minutes later, after the jumping jacks, arm circles, lunges, backpedaling, squats and light jogging that Seungmin was ready to collapse onto the ground. He couldn’t remember the last time he had exercised like this. To a normal person, it probably wouldn’t have affected them all that much but the most physical activity that Seungmin had participated in recently was when he danced alone and played air guitar while his favourite group would play on the radio. 

“You ok, Seungminnie?” Woojin asked from afar, masking his smirk behind the back of his hand. 

“No,” the redhead panted as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “No, I’m not fucking ok “ 

“We haven’t even started the training and you’re almost dead? Thought you’d have more of a fighting spirit in you.”    
  


Seungmin liked Changbin, he thought the elder was a really great guy but at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to punch him straight in the nose. Changbin wasn’t even sweating. How could he not be sweating when Seungmin was producing enough that it was beginning to create a puddle on the floor?

“Ok, now that we’re warmed up, let’s begin. Or are you too worn out?”

Seungmin placed his foot under his training sword and kicked upwards, allowing the weapon to fall delicately into his hands. He didn’t even know why his body reacted like that; it was like he had done it countless times before. He saw Woojin with an impressed expression on his face out of the corner of his eye before he turned back to Changbin, who was already in a defensive stance. 

“Now, we’re going to start slow at first. This is what we would usually teach kids when they begin their training. Do you think that you can keep up with what an eleven or twelve year old child can do, Minnie?” 

Changbin was trying to provoke him. It was obvious. Attempting to get inside his head and make him angry. That would always be the first step when training someone, to help tame the pupil’s feelings. You couldn’t fight well if your emotions were running wild and anger was the one that would get you killed if you yielded to it. That’s what he had always been told before beginning his training when he was younger. 

But how did he know that? 

“Seungmin, focus,” Changbin shouted, interrupting Seungmin’s thoughts. “First, all we’re going to cover is a basic attack. Left foot forwards, right foot back. Weight evenly distributed on both feet and hips facing me, not sideways.”

As he did as he was told, Seungmin’s gaze was drawn towards Woojin as the elder had his phone directed towards him. He realised that he was probably taking videos so that Seungmin could watch them back later and fix whatever needed working on in his stance or attacks. Or maybe it was just in case he fell on his ass and they wanted to have a way to remember it. Either way, it was going to be recorded.

“Now, with your right foot, step towards me and angle yourself to the right. This allows you to attack but also defend yourself should your opponent counterattack.” 

Changbin didn’t move yet, allowing Seungmin to get his movements correct first. 

“Bring your sword straight down and hit my shoulder,” Changbin directed, feeling the weight of Seungmin’s sword bearing down. “And if I go to attack, it’s still stopped by your blade, see?” 

Moving his sword to the side, Changbin proved his point as it came into contact with the base of Seungmin’s own, protecting him from being injured. 

“Good. Again.” 

An hour or two passed as Changbin followed the basic training that he had been taught as a child, with Woojin keeping a watchful eye over both of them, just in case anything went amiss. However, it seemed as if Seungmin didn’t need any protecting as he began to fly through the instruction that Changbin was doling out. Both of the elder Shadowhunters were impressed at the speed that Seungmin was taking in all of the information and the precision with which he was executing all of the moves. If they didn’t know any better, they would have said that Seungmin already knew everything that Changbin was teaching him but then again, that could have been very possible since he had learned all of this ten years ago when he had begun his training.

After getting Woojin’s approval with a nod of his head, Changbin thought it appropriate to teach Seungmin some basic offensive attacks that could be applicable in a fight. They began sparring but Changbin didn’t attack in earnest. That would be like teaching a baby to walk and then expecting him to run a marathon after a couple of hours. 

Though, maybe he should have begun attacking sincerely. Seungmin’s blade came down hard upon his own, showing that the younger was not holding back in his strength. He kept swinging, moving his feet exactly how Changbin had taught him so that he wouldn’t leave himself open to a counterattack. Changbin wasn’t overwhelmed by any means; he could end this fight right here and now if he seriously wanted to but he didn’t want to hurt Seungmin either. He thought it was cute the way the younger was trying so hard, like he had something to prove, which he didn’t. There was no way he was going to catch up with them after a few hours of training but if he kept up this pace, it wouldn’t be too long before he did. 

Changbin admitted he had to hold back a laugh when a few insults came along with Seungmin’s attacks but he wouldn’t be inexperienced enough to fall for such simple tricks. 

“All of your talk and you seem to have a problem keeping up with me,  _ Binnie _ ,” Seungmin goaded, wanting to get a rise out of Changbin and break the smugness he had been carrying himself with this entire time.

“Oh my god, is it six o’clock already?”

“What?!” Seungmin exclaimed, swirling around to gape at the clock. 

Hyunjin was coming to collect him at six for their date. Meeting. Get together. Whatever the hell he was supposed to call it. He wasn’t ready. He needed to shower and change his clothes and make himself look  _ somewhat _ presentable when he would be walking alongside the stunning Vampire. He was a complete mess now, sweat running out of every pore in his body, clothes and hair disheveled and sopping wet, face probably the colour of a tomato. Hyunjin couldn’t see him like this. 

However, when Seungmin focused in on the slow moving hands of the clock, he noticed it was only four fifteen, making a confuddled look pass across his face before his legs were swiped from under him and he was flat on his back on the frigid, stone floor. 

“Never,  _ ever,  _ get distracted by something like that, Seungmin. If an enemy says ‘look behind you’, are you going to do it? You rookie…” gibed Changbin as he pointed the training sword directly over Seungmin’s heart, pretty much signalling defeat for the redhead. 

Seungmin could understand what Woojin meant when he said that Changbin was a hard ass when it came to training. He was so sweet and empathic outside of training but now, all the elder could seem to focus on was making a fool out of Seungmin. Of course, Seungmin knew he deserved it; it was a complete beginner mistake to take your attention off of your opponent during a fight but Changbin knew what buttons to hit to make Seungmin lose his focus. It shouldn’t have been that easy but the thoughts of being late when meeting up with Hyunjin made his thoughts stray. Such a stupid mistake. 

“Huh, didn’t think our resident pretty boy would have such an effect on you. He’s already got you wrapped around his little finger,” provoked Changbin, holding out his hand to hoist Seungmin up off the floor. Apparently teasing was also a part of the training that he would have to endure after such a humiliating defeat. 

He knew that the match was over but it didn’t stop Seungmin from using his own sword to hit the back of Changbin’s knees as he continued to laugh at Seungmin’s agitated state, causing the raven haired young man to collapse to the ground with a screech. They could call him a bad sport or a sore loser; Seungmin didn’t care at this stage. He just wanted Changbin to feel what it was like to be in a losing position. 

“You absolutely deserved that, Bin. Just because you think a fight is over doesn’t mean that it is. Consider that a lesson that Seungminnie taught you,” Woojin cackled while he tried to hold his phone steady as he continued to record their showdown. 

After getting over his little pouting session, Seungmin began to laugh along with Woojin and helped Changbin to his feet, only to be punched in the arm. 

“You did really well today, Minnie. I think you’ll be a great fighter in no time but I don’t plan on letting up on you anytime soon. Go on, get ready for your date. Hyunjin isn’t usually on time for things but I have a feeling he will be for you,” teased Changbin as he pushed Seungmin towards the sleeping quarters. 

Seungmin didn’t even take time to reply as he sprinted towards his room, though he wasn’t quite sure why. He had another hour and a half before he was going to be picked up. As he grabbed the handle on the door to his room, a worrying thought popped into his head when he realised that none of his clothes were probably suitable for something like this. He had never been on a date before. Hell, he barely had a special occasion that he ever had to dress up for, so when he went through his closet in his head, he began to panic about his lack of choices. Knowing he didn’t have time to keep thinking about this, he began to run towards the room a few doors down to seek help. 

“Sungie!”


	12. Hiraeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I know a lot of you were hoping for the Seungjin date but I promise you that it's coming next week. Instead, we're straying from the Institute for this one but I hope you'll like it nonetheless!

“Can’t believe I got stuck on babysitting duty.” 

To Jeongin, it was like Wonsik wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was pissed about being paired up with him for the patrolling duty. A couple of hours ago, Chan had called him into the office, along with another wolf that Jeongin knew as Wonsik. He was in his mid twenties, an experienced fighter and someone that was feared by many in the pack because of his tough persona. Was Jeongin included in those people? Damn right he was. Wonsik was terrifying and the young Werewolf knew why they had been called into Chan’s office together. He was just praying to whatever deity was out there that he was wrong. He wasn’t, because Jeongin has absolutely no luck when it comes to things like this. 

“Um, Wonsik?”

“What?” the Werewolf snapped at Jeongin, literally baring his teeth as if he were some sort of threat. They were in the same pack together, the same family and Jeongin thought that the elder was making an awfully unnecessary fuss about going on patrol with him.

“I was just thinking, I don’t really know anything about you, even though I’ve been in the pack for a few months now and as far as I know, you don’t really know anything about me.”

“And it’s going to stay that way because I really don’t give a fuck about you.” 

Giving a low whistle, Jeongin’s eyes widened a bit in annoyance as he kept his distance, walking about seven steps behind the older wolf. He was trying to be pleasant but this asshole seemed to have other ideas. Though not everyone was this harsh, many of the wolves in his new pack were rather standoffish towards him. Not for any particular reason except for maybe how he was turned but he thought that most of them would have been sympathetic about the subject. Apparently not. It may have also been because Chan had to kill another wolf because of him but he didn’t really have any say in that. 

“Alright then. Could you tell me a little bit about this place? I didn’t grow up here and-”

“Listen, kid. This annoying chattering habit you have, it’s driving me crazy. I’ll tell you what: How about you go to the east and I’ll go to the west and we’ll meet on the main street in about an hour before heading back.” 

Jeongin didn’t particularly want to spend time with Wonsik either because of how he was acting but he most certainly didn’t want to be by himself in public. He hadn’t been left on his own outside of the house since he had joined the pack and Jeongin knew that was for his own safety. A Werewolf’s senses were way above that of most other supernatural creatures, especially hearing and smell and to be thrown into a place with so many people straight after changing would be an overload on his body. Chan had gradually been introducing him back into the world by taking strolls with him in the quieter parts of town so that he could get used to people again and wouldn’t get overwhelmed. That was why he had given him and Wonsik a less populated part of town to patrol too, much to the elder’s annoyance. Now, Wonsik wanted to leave him on his own and to meet up on one of the most inhabited streets in the city. Jeongin couldn’t do that by himself; he wouldn’t be able to handle it. Besides all of that, if he came up against a demon, he didn’t know if he would be able to do anything to eradicate it. 

“W-wait. Chan said that we had to stick together no matter what. That’s why we were put together in the first place. After what happened to Woong and Daewhi, he doesn’t want the same thing to happen to us.”

“The only reason you were put with me is because you’re too weak to take care of yourself. I don’t need some brat grabbing onto my leg and whimpering while I’m trying to fight, holding me back because he’s too scared to kill some powerless demons.”

Almost against his will, a threatening growl slipped past Jeongin’s lips as his canines sprouted and added to his intimidating gaze. 

“I am _ not _weak! I’m doing my best to adjust to this insanity that I was dropped in the middle of! I didn’t ask for any of this! Just because I’m not as aggressive and a bully like you are doesn’t mean I’m weak, you asshole!” 

Jeongin felt like pouncing on Wonsik when the man simply scoffed at his outburst. To the elder, it must have felt like a wolf staring down at a yapping puppy. 

“You know what? Forget about meeting up in an hour. You can find your own way home. See you later. If you manage to survive that is,” Wonsik jeered as he walked away, waving his hand in a jesting way. 

As Jeongin began to calm down, he realised that he was now alone on a street that was beginning to become more jam packed with people returning from work after a long, hard day. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like this one bit. As a few people walked past him, not even taking any notice of the slightly trembling young man, Jeongin’s breathing began to pick up as the panic began to set in. 

There were a few options available to him now. He could do his best to keep his head down and make his way home but it was about twenty minutes away at this stage if he stayed in his human form and he didn’t know if his senses could take that. He couldn’t shift in the middle of the street to get home faster either. A golden wolf running through the streets of Seoul would be a breaking news story waiting to happen. The possibility of calling Chan and asking him to come and collect him ran through his head too but he felt like that would be _ way _too embarrassing; it would be like a kid asking a parent to come and pick him up because he was scared. Plus, as much as he disliked Wonsik, he didn’t want to cause a rift between the members of the pack. He knew that would happen if he called Chan because the alpha was extremely protective over him and if he let it go that Wonsik left him on his own, it would probably result in blows. 

Slipping into a desecrate backstreet void of people, Jeongin decided to try and gather his bearings for a moment before attempting to make his way back to the pack. He could do this. All he needed to do was believe in himself, just like Chan did. 

And man, he just wished he could have ignored those horrific growls that were flowing through the alleyway when he heard them. Slithering sounds drowned out Jeongin’s own ragged breaths, only a few steps away from him. His inner wolf was screaming at him to attack the hidden threat that lingered just around the corner but his human consciousness was telling him to get as far away from the noises as possible. 

Then, he heard a whimper, something that nobody else but him could probably pick up since he was the only one with enhanced hearing in the vicinity. It suddenly hit Jeongin like a ton of bricks. Someone was in danger, probably face to face with a demon and he was just standing here and letting it happen. The whole reason he had asked Chan to let him go on the patrols was so that he could help people and stop these attacks from happening. In fairness, he thought he would have a partner to assist him with it but he didn't. Then again, he couldn’t just let some poor person get attacked because he was too much of a coward to intervene.

So, he took a step forward, deeper into the alleyway to find whatever was causing such terrifying sounds. Peeking out from behind a dumpster, he finally saw what he had feared. A Rahab demon was slinking around the trashbags on the ground. It was something that made Jeongin sick to his stomach, seeing the form of the disgusting demon. It looked and moved rather like a lizard but was so much larger in size. It lacked a set of eyes and he remembered that Chan had taught him that it relied on smell to move around and sense its prey. What it lacked in eyes, it made up for with its two mouths that held numerous pointed teeth and tusks. A large, thin tail and forked tongue were what oozed the most danger and Jeongin in no way wanted to get closer to it to find out what they could do. 

But he needed to because, when he looked closer, he noticed what had made the small whimpering noise earlier. Though he couldn’t see their face, Jeongin spotted someone sitting between all of the trashbags, which was probably the only thing keeping the young man alive since his scent was probably being obscured by the smell of rotting garbage. A mop of black hair could be seen as well as trembling legs and Jeongin knew he had to do something or the demon would soon zone in on the Mundane. 

But then again, Jeongin wasn’t sure if he _ was _a Mundane. There were no indications to show that he was anything but a Mundane but the young man currently shaking on the ground was staring straight at the demon. The problem with that was that Mundanes weren’t supposed to be able to see them. While Mundanes could see Downworlders and their features if they didn’t have a glamour up, they shouldn’t be able to see demons since they weren’t a part of this world, all of them being created in Edom. This Mundane shouldn’t be able to see the monster in front of him, not unless he had the Sight but Jeongin thought that only supernatural creatures and Shadowhunters had that. 

He didn’t have anymore time to think on the subject when the demon slithered only a few steps away from the young man as he let out another shuddering breath. He hadn’t seemed to notice Jeongin, nor had the demon, so he took this opportunity to attack. Trying to keep his face hidden as best he could, Jeongin began to shift partially so that his claws and teeth came out. His abilities wouldn’t be as strong as if he was fully shifted but he couldn’t turn right now, there was no time. 

It seemed as if both the human and demon took note of Jeongin’s presence as the Werewolf pounced upon the monster and began to claw at its throat. He wasn’t quite sure where the confidence came out of but when he caught a whiff of the human’s scent, something within him fluctuated, something that told him he had to protect the frightened young man with every ounce of his being. And that’s exactly what he did. He tore the demon’s flesh with his teeth, spitting out whatever rancid leftovers had made their way into his mouth. Pinning down the monster’s unruly tail with his foot, he swiped and scratched at the sizeable demon until it stopped writhing and remained still. Lesser demons like Rahabs weren’t smart enough to play dead, so Jeongin knew that he had done his job and protected the human still cowering to his left. 

Wiping his dirtied hands on his trousers as the flesh and blood came off slowly, Jeongin began to turn back to his human state, doing his best to keep his gaze away from the person behind him. He didn’t want the young man to remember his face in case he figured out what Jeongin was and managed to tell someone. But no matter how hard he tried to disguise himself, it didn’t seem to matter when he heard another whimper from behind him along with the rustling of the garbage as the other stood up and moved closer when Jeongin tried to slip away. 

“J-Jeongin?” 

The Werewolf’s blood ran cold when he realised that the person behind him knew who he was. It wasn’t anyone he had met since he had joined Chan’s pack; he knew all of their scents and the one emanating from the young man behind him was not one of them. But he knew the voice and it was someone who most definitely shouldn’t have been here. 

Jeongin carefully put one foot in front of the other, ready to full on sprint out of there because he most certainly couldn’t turn around and face the young man behind him. The air flowing into his lungs felt like it was burning him on the inside, his legs felt like lead as he tried to move them, his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn’t grip onto anything, let alone reality. Slowly losing his senses, Jeongin felt a harsh grasp around his wrist that swiftly turned him around until his face was only centimeters from the other person. When he saw the familiar eyes up close, he wanted to break down and cling to the thing that his past life had held but he couldn’t. Chan told him that he couldn’t. He needed to let go. 

“Jeonginnie...oh god, it’s really you. I knew it. All this time, I’ve been so sure that you weren’t dead and now…you’re here,” the other whispered as he caressed Jeongin’s face, seemingly unaffected by how the Werewolf had just massacred a horrific monster in front of him while claws and teeth deformed his normal appearance. 

He couldn’t breathe. His eyes were beginning to water. His thoughts weren’t in any way coherent as he felt thumbs swiping across his cheeks. He needed to leave. Now. 

Pushing the comforting touch away, Jeongin spun around and dashed away from the alley as fast as his feet could take him. The demon’s blood still coated his hands and clothes but he paid it no mind. Every muscle in his legs were screaming at him to slow down but he paid them no mind. Hearing his name being screamed at him from behind, Jeongin wanted to stop and return to the young man he had left in the cold, damp alleyway. But he paid him no mind. All he had to do was run. Fast. Relentlessly. Without looking back. So, that’s exactly what he did.

* * *

As the glare from his screen made him squint his tired eyes, Chan sat as his desk and typed away on his laptop. He wanted to get a proper system designed for the patrols that had been set up, giving everyone a partner that they would work well with. Being an alpha had its perks; he knew each and every one of the wolves under his care and thus, who each of his wolves were close to. Chan was just about done but he would have been finished ages ago if he hadn’t been constantly thinking about how Jeongin was doing. 

He had a mental connection to everyone in the pack that they could send him a signal through if they needed to. If that connection was cut off, it meant one thing and one thing only but he was at ease since he was still connected to Jeongin. Nothing unsavoury had happened to him on his first outing. As Chan checked the time, he noticed that Jeongin and Wonsik should be back any minute, letting Chan’s mind finally rest. 

“Whoo, thank god that’s over.” 

Snorting at the volume of Wonsik’s yell, Chan closed his laptop and began to stand, commending the other wolf’s punctuality in coming back from his rounds with Jeongin. Chan realised that Wonsik was seen as blunt and sometimes crude but the alpha trusted him because he knew that the elder would protect his family with the strength he had gained. He was experienced, clear headed and didn’t cower in the face of danger. That was why he had chosen the wolf to pair up with Jeongin on his first patrol. Nothing would touch the younger Werewolf when Wonsik was with him. 

As he entered the front hall, Chan blocked his nose, his wolf gagging at the putrid smell of demon blood coming from Wonsik’s clothes. 

“Christ, Wonsik, did you bathe in their blood or something? You reek!”

“Thanks, Captain. I’m just managing to keep the streets clean of these filthy demons and this is the greeting I get? Unbelievable.”

Chan snorted at the title that Wonsik had addressed him with. Some of the other wolves had taken the pups to the beach a few months ago and a couple of the little ones, two girls named Yuna and Lia, had brought him back a captain’s hat as a present. After wearing it around the house to quieten the pups’ pleas, it had become a running joke to call him ‘Captain’. 

“I’m sorry, Wonsik. Well done on doing a good job. So, where’s Innie? How did he find it?” 

A strong whiff of distress overcame the stench of demon blood as Wonsik’s face turned a ghastly white. Chan didn’t need another minute to know that something was terribly wrong with the wolf standing in front of him. 

“He’s...he’s not here?”

“What do you mean ‘he’s not here?’ He was on patrol with you. Why would he be here?” Chan exclaimed, voice rising in volume and pitch when he realised that Wonsik had no idea where Jeongin was. “Wonsik, what the hell happened?!” 

Chan marched forwards, only a few steps away from the other wolf who began to cower slightly as his alpha came into his space. To a Mundane, the scene would look strange: a six foot, muscular young man who was surrounded by confidence submitting to Chan. While the alpha was athletic and muscular, he was built in a very different way to Wonsik and was also about ten centimeters shorter than him. 

“We...we were messing around and I sorta got annoyed with him when he snapped at me. I told him to go back home by himself because...because I didn’t want to babysit him.”

Chan saw red as he pushed Wonsik up against the wall and fisted his shirt. Hearing the commotion, many of the pack began to pour out of different rooms to see what was happening. 

“I _ ordered _you to watch over him! I told you that he was still nervous about everything and that he wasn’t ready to be alone yet! You son of a bitch, how could you leave a pup all alone in the middle of the city like that when you know he’s still adjusting to being a wolf?!” 

Chan was feral, eyes blazing red as he secreted threatening pheromones so that Wonsik knew he was in some seriously deep shit. 

“A-Alpha, I’m sorry. I didn’t think-” 

Banging him up against the wall once more, Chan bared his fangs and growled with such animosity that it made even those who were not involved in the fight become meek and passive. Wonsik’s ears had sprouted due to the shock of Chan’s outburst and were currently laid flat against his head, a sure sign of regret and submission. 

“You’re fucking right you didn’t think. You better hope that he’s ok, Wonsik or I swear...Get the fuck out of my sight,” snarled Chan as he let go of the front of the other’s shirt and began to stalk off towards the door. 

The alpha could hear Wonsik calling his name, trying to apologise and say that he would go with him to search but Chan didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t even want to _ look _at Wonsik right now. All that was running through his mind right now was finding Jeongin. That was all that mattered. Chan had promised to keep Jeongin safe but he was not doing a particularly good job. 

Stopping at the closet by the front door, Chan grabbed the bag with his name on it, dropping it on the floor in front of him. Everyone in the group had a backpack in this closet in case of emergencies and Chan would most definitely call this an emergency. Inside was a change of clothes, first aid supplies and some food and water. He didn’t know if he would need everything but he hoped not. 

Chan began to strip himself of his own clothes and stuff them inside his bag along with the clean set. After he was done, he opened the front door and slowly began to shift to his lupine form. Transforming was like child’s play to him at this stage and it hurt a hell of a lot less than it did the first time he was forced into it. Still, his bones cracked as his joints moved and made way for his new form. Silver fur sprouted from every part of his body as his tail and ears grew out. The golden chains that he wove through his hair as a human remained in his new state; the pups had always complimented him on them, saying they looked pretty against the argent strands. 

Letting his senses sharpen, Chan grabbed the bag with his belongings between his teeth and bolted out the front door, faster than he ever had in his life. His wolf snarled, thinking about how something may have happened to Jeongin, even if the alpha knew he was still alive through their bond. He needed to find him and he needed to find him _ now. _

* * *

Trying to distinguish the different scents that intercepted him as he tried to locate Jeongin, Chan began to leap and bound over the logs and tree roots that stood in his way. 

After becoming alpha of his pack, he decided that the most appropriate place to settle would be somewhere both hidden and freeing. He had chosen a forest on the outskirts of town, somewhere that Mundanes did not often travel. It gave them the freedom they needed to be who they were. They could shift freely and run through the forest when they wished, not having to worry about being found out. They had built a house sizeable enough for all of them to live in, with enough space should even more wolves join the pack, which they did and had placed a glamour around it so that it would not be visible to Mundanes should they stray so far into the woods. 

Doing his best to pick up the pup’s smell, Chan placed his nose to the ground and was instantly rewarded with Jeongin’s scent, strong and not too far off. Feeling the mud shift beneath his feet, the alpha took off in the direction where he knew he would find the younger wolf. 

It only took about another two minutes before Chan came upon what he had been looking for but was a little shocked to see that Jeongin was no longer in his human form. Underneath a tall oak tree laying in the shade, was a small sandy wolf, whimpering with his ears flat against the side of his head. 

Feeling his heart calm itself at the sight of the younger, Chan began to advance forwards, halting when a twig snapped under his weight and an aggressive growl came from Jeongin. Chan knew there and then that Jeongin was no longer in control and had let his wolf take over to protect him from whatever had caused him to shift. 

Trying to release calming pheromones to soothe the younger and let him know that his alpha was here to help, Chan slowly began to shift back, grabbing the clean pair of jeans from his bag and slipping them on. Most wolves would have probably told him to remain in his beastly form so that his alpha state would force Jeongin to submit easily but Chan didn’t want that. He knew that Jeongin was still more comfortable around humans than wolves, even when he was one himself and Chan wanted to do everything he could to make the younger feel at ease.

“Hey, Innie. It’s just me, ok?” Chan assured as he lowered his voice and stepped towards the shaking wolf. He never used his alpha tone on scared wolves, just out of control ones and Jeongin was in the first category at the moment.

As Chan slipped towards the younger, he stretched out his hand to touch Jeongin’s head but recoiled when the other snapped at him, a warning not to try that again. But Chan persisted, lowering himself to look into Jeongin’s eyes, continuing to secrete a calming essence and attempting to place his hand on top of the younger wolf’s head once more. This time, Jeongin shuddered but seemed to realise that Chan was just trying to help him. 

Encouraging words and soft touches slowly allowed Jeongin’s senses to become clearer as he regained his humanity and began to lean into Chan’s fingers while the elder continually petted his ears. A howl rang out through the solitude of the forest before Jeongin gradually changed back. With fatigue encasing him, he let his bare chest fall against Chan’s, with the elder wolf wrapping the jacket he had been wearing earlier around Jeongin’s shoulders, hoping the smell stuck to it would pacify the younger even further. 

Jeongin began to nose at the crook Chan’s neck, inhaling the elder’s scent and feeling his body go lax at the security that surrounded him because of it.

“Al…Alpha…’m sorry…”

Jeongin was already beginning to drift off in Chan’s arms, physically and mentally exhausted from everything that had occurred during the day.

“No, Innie, you don’t have anything to apologise for, do you hear me? I’ve got you now, you don’t have to worry. You’re safe with me,” Chan promised, nuzzling into Jeongin’s hair and hugging the shivering pup even closer. “Do wanna go home now?”

All that Chan got was a tiny, sleepy nod in return before he took the smaller up bridal style and began to carry him back to the house for some well deserved rest. After that, Chan would look for a detailed explanation of what had gone wrong. 

* * *

Shrugging his bag full of emergency supplies onto the floor, Chan asked one of the boys who had rushed to the door to greet him to put it back in the closet for him. He softly replied to the worried yells of his pack when they laid eyes on the partially dressed young man in Chan’s arms, who remained asleep despite the ruckus. He told them not to fret, that Jeongin was alright and to return to whatever they had been doing. Chan caught a glimpse of Wonsik, the distressed wolf trying to inspect Jeongin’s condition with a look of raw terror in his eyes. Once he locked gazes with Chan, the alpha sent him a look that told him he would be dealt with later, to which Wonsik only nodded before dropping his head.

Chan gently nudged the door to Jeongin’s room open with his foot, stumbling in as his legs wobbled unsteadily. Jeongin may have been much smaller and lighter than Chan but he was still a substantial weight to be carrying for close to twenty minutes since the alpha couldn’t bring him back in his wolf form. Finally reaching the bed, Chan carefully lowered Jeongin’s head onto the pillow, placing his legs on the bed and draping the comforter over him.

Running his fingers through the younger’s hair, Chan glanced around the room that had been given to Jeongin four months ago when he had moved in. In Chan’s opinion, there wasn’t much here that signified that this room actually belonged to someone. It looked almost exactly the same as it had when Jeongin had moved in, bar a few books, his backpack in the corner of the room and the worn teddy bear now settled beside the young man’s head. It seemed to Chan as if Jeongin was holding off on becoming comfortable here and making this space his own, like he was afraid he would have to leave them at some point.

“Chan?”

Snapping him out of his unwanted thoughts, Chan returned his gaze to Jeongin as the younger blinked sleepily and rubbed his eyes with his fist. 

“Hey, Innie. How are you feeling?” 

“Fine. I’m sorry you had to come and get me.” 

The uncomfortable feeling in his chest as his heart cracked because of Jeongin’s slurred words made Chan want to bundle the younger up even further than he already was. 

“I’ll always come for you, Innie. No matter where you are, I’ll always be there. Why were you in the middle of the forest like that anyways? What was it that caused you to shift?” 

Jeongin seemed to think for a moment before he visibly started to tremble and Chan knew he needed to act before the boy lost his senses again. 

“Hey, hey, none of that, Innie. You don’t have to be scared of anything. Come on now, pup. Tell me what happened,” Chan said soothingly as he leaned closer to make Jeongin’s eyes zone in on him. 

“I…I was alone because…” 

Chan thought it admirable that Jeongin was still trying to make it seem as if Wonsik hadn’t up and abandoned him in the middle of the city, even though Chan had explicitly told him to keep an eye on Jeongin. It seemed that this was what being in a pack meant to Jeongin, that you don’t rat on your family, even when they did something wrong but Chan needed to get that mindset out of Jeongin’s head quickly because if someone hurt him or put him in danger, Chan needed to know about it. 

“Because Wonsik ran off on you, right? I know, Innie, he told me.” 

Jeongin stilled at that but it seemed to give him the courage to go on with his story when he realised he would not be the one to out what Wonsik had done. 

“Before I started to make my way back, I heard something in the alleyway where I was. When I checked, there was a Rahab demon and it looked like it was cornering a Mundane.”

Thanking his lucky stars that Jeongin hadn’t been harmed by the monster while he had been alone, Chan let out a sharp breath but urged the younger to continue. 

“I couldn’t just let the person get hurt, so I attacked it. It took a little while but I eventually killed it.” 

Now, Chan knew it wasn’t the point of the story but when he heard that Jeongin had managed to defeat a Rahab demon all by himself, he couldn’t have been prouder of the younger Werewolf. Rahab demons were by no means weak and to know that Jeongin’s conscience pushed him to save another person, even if it meant putting himself in danger, just made Chan’s chest bubble with pride. 

“There was something strange though. Before I attacked, it seemed that the Mundane was staring at the demon but that wouldn’t be possible, right? They shouldn’t be able to see them.”

“It’s not entirely impossible, Innie. About one in every ten million Mundanes have the Sight like we do. It’s exceedingly rare but if they have some sort of supernatural lineage, even way down the line, then it can happen. Plus, if your nose told you that the person was a Mundane, then you should trust it.”

Jeongin nodded at the logic, surprised by the new information but when he thought back once more, he was certain that there were no signs in the human’s scent that he was something other than a Mundane. 

“But...none of that caused me to change. I was about to just run away after I knew the Mundane was safe but…he called out to me. He called me by my name. He knew who I was…and I knew him.”

That caused Chan’s heart to stop for a second. From what he knew, there were no Mundanes that Jeongin was acquainted with since he had been turned, so if some Mundane knew him by his name, it could only mean that they belonged to the life that Jeongin had left behind when the younger had joined his pack.

“Who was it, Innie?”

“His name is Yedam,” Jeongin whispered with a sad sort of sheen coating his eyes. “He was my best friend when we grew up together in Busan. I don’t know why he was here. He shouldn’t have been.” 

Chan bit his lip, thinking that this could cause more than a few problems but he didn’t say anything of the sort to Jeongin, not wanting to unsettle the younger further.

“I see. And you didn’t say anything to him? Did you shift there? Did he see you?”

“No, I didn’t say anything. I only shifted partially so that I could kill the demon and then changed right back before running off. I didn’t turn fully until I reached the edge of the forest, I think. But, yeah, he saw me kill the demon. I’m sorry, Chan.” 

If something wasn’t done about this Mundane, he could end up spilling a lot of secrets that could not be known by their world. Chan began to wonder what the chances were that Jeongin would run into one of about five people in the entirety of the country with the Sight. Not only that, this Mundane that he had saved used to be his best friend. Chan absolutely hated coincidences sometimes.

“No, no, Innie. It’s not your fault. I’m really proud of you for defending someone like that. I always knew you had a heart of gold, pup,” Chan grinned as he continued to push his fingers through Jeongin’s hair. “We’ll talk a little more about all of this tomorrow, ok?”

Chan took this moment as his cue to leave but as he began to stand, he felt a weak grip on his wrist, an action that told him that the younger was not ready to part with him yet. 

“Could you stay for just a few more minutes?”

Admittedly weak against Jeongin’s, for lack of a better pun, ‘puppy eyes’, Chan nodded as he held onto the younger’s hand but did not sit back down on the bed in case Jeongin decided to drift off in the midst of their conversation.

“How do you know the Shadowhunters and the Warlock leader that we met the other day?” 

He figured this question had been coming after how he had interacted with the others at the meeting. Jeongin was always a curious person and it seemed that this particular topic was no different. 

“I’m friends with Changbin and Jisung, two of the younger Shadowhunters. I met Minho a little bit before the first meeting there since I needed his help a couple of times, he’s a good friend too. I know Hyunjin, the head of the Seoul clan of Vampires as well. The, um, head of the Institute, Woojin, used to be my mate.” 

Chan had his eyes firmly set on their interlocked hands but he didn’t miss the way Jeongin’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, not that he could really blame him. 

“Your mate? I didn’t see a bite mark on him.”

“No, we never went that far to solidify it. We just called each other mates since...never mind. We were in a relationship for a while but he ended it about seven months ago.”

No matter how hard he tried, Chan couldn’t say something like that with a smile on his face. It was the sort of wound that never healed, no matter how much he liked to pretend that it did. It wouldn’t have helped to lie to Jeongin anyway. The younger wasn’t stupid and could probably pick up on the slight shift in Chan’s demenour when he spoke of Woojin and what they had shared.

“Ah, I see. Well, hopefully I can be friends with them too. I’ve already started texting Seungmin a little bit.”

“Seungmin?”

“Yeah, remember the guy who I was speaking to at the meeting with the red hair?”

Chan did remember Jeongin running up to him after the meeting and excitedly telling him on bouncy feet that he had made a new friend. He was rather glad that the Shadowhunter had made a move towards extending a hand towards Jeongin, since he knew the younger wolf would never do it himself. There was just a little bit of skepticism behind it since he had no idea who that Shadowhunter was but now that he thought about it, he had heard the name before when he used to stay at the Institute. 

“Oh, wait. That was Seungmin? I remember Sungie talking about him. They finally got him back, huh? I wonder what happened.”

“I’ll find out more about him when I see him next. He said we can talk.”

Even if Chan wished that Jeongin would become more at ease in his pack and find friends there first, he knew that he could trust the Shadowhunters to look after him if he wanted to start friendships there. He could trust most of them anyways.

“Chan?”

“Yeah, Innie?”

“You said that Woojin broke it off?” 

Chan nodded solemnly, wondering where Jeongin was going to go with his line of random questioning. 

“Did _ you _ want to end your relationship with him?”   
  


Floundering a bit as the question truly caught him off guard, Chan tried to remain composed and give a straight answer. He always told Jeongin that he shouldn’t try and hide anything from him and in this kind of relationship, the alpha felt the need to extend the same courtesy towards the other. 

  
“No, Innie, not at the time.”

“Did you still love him back then?”   
  


Chan really wanted to run out of the room rather than continue to answer these questions but if Jeongin was going to keep going to the Institute, he would inevitably hear about all of this from someone else, so he simply nodded his head to confirm the younger’s query. He could already see Jeongin beginning to close his eyes as the hold on his fingers began to weaken, the fatigue probably allowing his tongue to become a bit too loose, asking questions he wouldn’t were he in the right state of mind. 

  
“Do you still love him now?” 

Air shifting slightly as the room remained soundless, Jeongin wearily opened his eyes to try and see why Chan wasn’t answering his question. He could almost_ feel _the conflict that was making itself known through the older wolf’s features. Just when he thought he was going to get an answer, Chan seemed to come back to reality and forced a smile on his face.

  
“Go to sleep, Innie. You need to rest after today.” 

Seeing the younger nod as he snuggled into the comforter, Chan was thankful that Jeongin hadn’t pushed him for an answer on that particular question because, in all honesty, he didn’t know the answer to it anymore.

“Chan?”

“Yeah?”

The alpha paused and took in the sleepy young man who only had his face visible amongst the tower of blankets, losing the battle against his dreams as they came to take him away.

“Love you…”

“Love you too, pup.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I weak for Chan being a dad to Jeongin? Damn right I am. See you all next week!


	13. Felicity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! How are you all doing? I'm back I guess.   
Firstly, some of you might have noticed that I deleted that last 'update' that I put up. I wrote it about an hour after the news initially came out two weeks ago and I wasn't in a great place. Even though that chapter is gone, I kept a record of the comments that were left because, honestly, seeing that you guys were ok with the hiatus and saying that you understood, it made me feel so much more at ease. I really don't know what I did to deserve such wonderful readers like you guys. Thank you to those who did and I know a lot of people wanted to comment but didn't know the right words to write. That's ok. I know it was hard at the time and for some, it still it. Also, thank you to those who came to me on Twitter and Tumblr and offered to talk to me. Really can't express how much that helped me.   
Anyways! I'm bringing you a new chapter today but I may not be back to my regular schedule just yet. After not writing for 2 weeks, I'm finding it just a little bit hard to get back into the swing of things. So, it might be every two weeks for updates for a little while if that's ok?   
One last thing, for this work and my future works, I will be writing Skz as OT9. Woojin will always have a place in my stories. If anyone is uncomfortable reading that, I really don't mind if you don't want to continue. I understand but I can't exclude him when he means so much to me. It's like some very wise person said on Twitter: "eight in the group but nine in the family." That will always stand. Always.   
That was an awfully long intro but anyways. Love you guys lots, thank you for waiting for me and I hope you enjoy.

As the evening sun began to disappear behind the tops of the enormous buildings, causing fuschia and gold to cover the expanse of the sky, Hyunjin couldn’t help but wonder why there was a strange sort of bubbling in his chest as he walked to the Institute. He couldn’t remember feeling something like this before, the sensation oddly resembling butterflies in his stomach. Hyunjin wasn’t stupid, he knew the meaning behind that idiom but he couldn’t figure out what there was to be nervous about. All he was doing was going to take Seungmin for a drink in the quiet little bar that sat on the end of the street. It was a hidden gem within the city, something that a lot of people didn’t know about since it mostly catered towards the residents of the Shadow world but it was the solitude that it provided that made the Vampire feel at ease when he visited the establishment and he couldn’t wait to take Seungmin there. 

It was an instant pull when he first saw the red headed Shadowhunter at the meeting and Hyunjin knew at once that he wanted to know more about him. He had felt a strong connection to maybe two or three people in his very long two hundred years of life but nothing like this and he wanted to find out what made Seungmin so different. 

As he approached the front door to the Institute, the butterflies in his stomach began to take off, making him feel extremely nauseous. Not that Vampires could get sick, which made the feeling even more unsettling to Hyunjin. Seeing as he visited the place a lot because of his friendship with Woojin, Jisung and Changbin, the Vampire didn’t bother to knock or announce his presence anymore as he walked into the Institute. Most of the other Shadowhunters there would just bow or nod towards him, which Hyunjin always returned with a smile before they told him where it was that he could find one of his three friends but this time, it was different. 

Sending Seungmin a quick text to tell him that he had arrived, Hyunjin waited anxiously in the hallway, thanking the Shadowhunters telling him to come in but declining at the same time saying he was happy to wait here for Seungmin. A small buzz in his pocket alerted him of an incoming message which he pulled out with eagerness and read over quickly. 

_ ‘I’ll be there in two minutes! I’m sorry! Jisung won’t stop fussing over my hair!’  _

Snorting as he pocketed his phone and sat on one of the benches pushed up against the wall, Hyunjin knew the Jisung had probably made a big deal about him asking Seungmin out for a drink. It was no secret that Hyunjin wasn’t all that big on forming relationships with humans since he would inevitably outlive them due to his immortality. He didn’t enjoy the heartbreak of having to say goodbye to someone he loved and therefore, made a decision long ago to limit his interactions with mortals but the three Shadowhunters were hard to escape once they had tried to welcome him into their lives, especially Jisung. Now, he was asking Seungmin if he could hang out with him of his own volition, wanting to know a human, simply because he was intrigued. To Jisung, that was more than likely a huge step. 

“Sorry, sorry. I swear, I’m usually pretty punctual!” 

Jumping a little since he had been so lost in his own thoughts, Hyunjin raised his head to smile at Seungmin, letting his smirk grow a little bit more when he saw how handsome the other was in what he could only assume were Jisung’s clothes. Wearing a black beanie that contrasted beautifully to his bright, red hair, Seungmin also chose to sport a soft, white t-shirt, jeans that were turned up ever so slightly and maroon high tops. The only thing he wore that Hyunjin was sure didn’t belong to Jisung was the oversized, beige cardigan that fell down to Seungmin’s knees. He wasn’t overly dressed by any standards but Hyunjin thought the simplicity of the outfit made the younger man all the more stunning. 

“That’s alright, Minnie. I just got here. Plus, I know you’re telling the truth when you say Sungie is the one that made you late. That guy is never on time for anything,” Hyunjin teased, trying to suppress a laugh when he noticed Jisung hiding behind a corner and observing the whole interaction, throwing daggers at Hyunjin for insulting him. “You look great, by the way.”

“Thank you, so do you,” Seungmin replied with a small blush. Hyunjin could sense just a hint of a jittery undertone in his words and he began to wonder if the Shadowhunter was experiencing the same nervousness that he was. “Anyway, where are we going?” 

“There’s a really pleasant little bar on the next block named ‘Ombre’, I think you’ll like it.” 

“Huh, I’ve never heard of that place before and I’ve lived in the city for as long as I can remember,” Seungmin remarked as he waved goodbye to Jisung as the elder shouted for them to have fun.

“Well, I guess that’s not too surprising. It’s kind of hidden away from the public eye down an alleyway. It doesn’t do publicity or stuff like that since it’s a place for Downworlders.” 

Hyunjin saw Seungmin’s eyebrows raise in surprise but he wondered why the younger man was having such a bewildered reaction to hearing about a bar for Downworlders. What stunned the Vampire the most was that Seungmin just said that he had been in this Seoul all his life, yet Hyunjin had never seen or heard anything about him before. There must be a reason for that, he thought, but he would question him about it later when they had arrived at their destination. 

  
Just as Seungmin reached out for the handle, Hyunjin instinctively put an arm around the redhead’s waist and pulled him back just in time for both of them to avoid being hit by the door that swung open ahead of them. 

“Minho!” 

Hyunjin really didn’t mean to hiss out the Warlock’s name but when Minho had almost smashed Seungmin’s face in with his entrance, it was like the Vampire’s aggression took over to protect the younger man that he still had one of his arms wrapped around. 

“Oh, hey, Hyunjinnie. Didn’t see you there. Seungminnie is here too. Why is your arm around him? Come on, Hyunjin. The kid has been here for two days and you’re already together? Give him a little breathing room, huh?” 

Quickly removing his arm from around Seungmin’s waist, Hyunjin felt his face flare crimson but, then again, Vampires couldn’t blush, something he was rather happy about in this instance so that Minho wouldn’t be able to tease him further. The whole spectacle didn’t seem to phase Seungmin as the young man simply smiled at Hyunjin before turning his gaze back to the Warlock wearing a cheeky grin. 

“We’re not together, Minho,” Hyunjin admitted, though he knew the implied  _ ‘yet’  _ was immediately picked up by the other who snickered as he ran his tongue along his teeth and made a snapping action towards the Vampire that seemed to go unnoticed by Seungmin.

“I see. Are you guys heading somewhere?” 

“We’re going to a bar down the street,” Seungmin supplied, apparently excited about the thoughts of doing something somewhat ‘normal’ after everything he had been through. 

“Oh, Ombre? That’s a pretty nice place, I visit it a lot. Good booze if you’re interested. A popular destination for first dates nowadays, I must say,” Minho tried, thinking it would overly fluster the couple in the midst of a budding romance in front of him. However, all he got in return were coy smiles and averted gazes, ones that told him that they also thought that this was being considered as a first date. “So that means I won’t get to speak with Seungminnie tonight? You’re the whole reason I came here.”

Hyunjin could see Seungmin’s resolve begin to waver as he stood in front of the pouting Warlock but he was not going to sit here all evening with everyone else when he had planned a rather nice evening with Seungmin. Call him selfish but Hyunjin was sure he wouldn’t get a word in edgeways if he was in the same room as the likes of Minho and Jisung.

As Seungmin turned to him with a guilty smile, Hyunjin could immediately see a personality trait of Seungmin’s appear. He was definitely altruistic. It was obvious that he wanted to go with Hyunjin on their outing but at the same time, he didn’t want to let Minho down, even though Hyunjin was sure that the Warlock was just messing with them. Minho wouldn’t mind spending the evening with Woojin and the others now that he was here and could come back tomorrow if he wanted to speak with Seungmin but apparently, the Shadowhunter didn’t seem to pick up on that. 

Just as Hyunjin was about to try and ease the younger’s worries, their knight in shining armour appeared to save the day. 

“Stop trying to make him feel bad, Min. You can talk another time. Leave the kids go,” Woojin implored, winking at Hyunjin when the Vampire placed his hands together behind Seungmin’s head and mouthed a ‘thank you’. 

“Hyunjinnie is over a hundred years older than me and  _ way _ older than you! I would hardly call him a kid…” 

“You know what I mean, smartass,” scolded Woojin as he smacked the back of Minho’s head. “I’ll see you later, Seungmin. Enjoy yourselves but I want you back here by twelve, am I making myself clear?” 

Hyunjin knew very well that Woojin was protective of those under his care, acting like a dad of sorts to many of the Shadowhunters in the Institute. Seungmin simply smiled and nodded before cupping Hyunjin’s hand and pulling him towards the door. 

While the Vampire was nothing if not flirty with his words, things such as physical affection were a little foreign to him, bar perhaps hugs since he was friends with the likes of Jisung and Changbin. Seungmin seemed to be on the complete opposite end of the scale. The redhead apparently had a problem with Hyunjin’s forward confessions but didn’t seem to flinch when he held onto Hyunjin with a soft but reassuring grip. 

When Hyunjin eventually managed to remove his eyes from their clasped hands, he directed his gaze back to Woojin and Minho, the elder of the two making kissy faces at him while Woojin pointed two fingers at his own eyes before pointing one straight back at Hyunjin, mouthing the words ‘look after him or else’, stirring up a little bit of fear in the Vampire’s chest. Nothing on this earth would make him want to get on the eldest Shadowhunter’s bad side. He was already dead but there were things far worse than death that Woojin could do to him if he didn’t take care of Seungmin on their date. 

Thinking no further on the subject, he tightened his own grasp on Seungmin’s hand and let the young man lead the way, even though Hyunjin was sure that the other had absolutely no idea where he was supposed to go. 

* * *

“Can’t believe you let Hyunjinnie take your youngest kid out on a date,” Minho snickered as he dodged the slap to his shoulder. 

“Cut that out. Seungmin is an adult and can do whatever he likes.”

“Or whoever he likes.” 

If looks could kill, Minho was sure there would already be a few people weeping at his graveside the way Woojin stopped and downright glared at him. He was a tad disappointed that Seungmin wouldn’t be here this evening but he would never turn down an opportunity to spend time with his old friends. Being the High Warlock of Seoul took up a lot of his time but at the moment, there wasn’t too much going on with his work and Minho knew that he should take whatever time he was given to spend it with those he cared for. 

“So, did you clear out Jihoon’s house yet?” 

“Are you kidding me? The old man was practically a hoarder. He has so much shit I actually don’t know what to do with it,” Minho sighed as he walked into the main surveillance room with Woojin. 

It was probably the biggest room in the entirety of the Institute if the dining hall was excluded. The walls were covered from head to toe in screens, all showing different areas of Seoul and places beyond. Numerous Shadowhunters went about their duties, some in deep conversation, others tapping away at tablets in their hands. The rise in demon attacks required everyone to be more vigilant with their observation on the city and it seemed to Minho that some people were putting in overtime since there were never usually this many Shadowhunters working at once. 

“Did you open his letter yet?” Woojin asked, smiling sadly when he saw the Warlock shake his head as he stopped with him at a screen he immediately began typing on. 

“I’ll do it eventually. Just...not yet.” 

“I know, Min. Don’t worry about it.”

As Minho felt a warm hand pat the back of his head, the solitude was momentarily broken by a shrill shriek bouncing off of the walls. 

“No! Bomi, no! You can’t just steal food from the kitchen like that!” 

Jisung’s voice was easily identifiable to Minho but the young man was nowhere to be seen; a true testament to how far his voice could carry. Minho turned back to Woojin, silently asking him what the hell that was all about as he saw the eldest Shadowhunter exhale heavily with a hint of exasperation. 

“Seems like she’s making herself at home already.” 

“She? Who is she? Who is Jisung with?” Minho inquired, looking around himself to see if he could catch a glimpse of Jisung and this mystery woman. 

“Jisung brought a stray cat home with him from Seungmin’s apartment that he had been feeding,” explained Woojin, shaking his head, already knowing that he was being too soft on Jisung. 

“Oh…I thought there was a ‘no pets allowed’ rule in this place.” 

“There is. He begged me, Min. I can’t say no to him when he looks at me with that damn sulky expression that he has perfected.” 

Snorting at the aggravated state of his friend, Minho tutted in mock disappointment at the leader of the Institute. The Warlock also knew about the look that Woojin was referring to. He knew about it all too well.

“You have that problem too, huh?” Minho muttered, coughing a little when Woojin asked him what he had said. “Nothing, nothing.”

Just as he finished clearing his throat, Minho mumbled ‘speak of the devil and he shall appear’ to Woojin when he saw Jisung bounding into the room with the biggest smile on his face. Though, the younger immediately halted when he saw Minho and the Warlock had to admit, it kind of hurt that he was the one to wipe Jisung’s smirk off of his lips, though he wasn’t sure why it had disappeared. 

“Hey, Sungie. Heard you have a new addition to the family.”    
  


That caused a small quirk in Jisung’s lips, which Minho was thankful for. Just as Jisung looked like he was going to begin talking about his new pet, Woojin closed the tab he was working on and picked up his tablet before beginning to walk away. 

“Sungie, you’re on clean up duty in the kitchen tonight.”

“What?! No, I was on clean up duty last week!” 

“Yeah but the day you were supposed to do it, you weren’t feeling well and turned in early so I did it for you. Remember?”

Minho quirked an eyebrow, remembering the night that he had spent with Jisung last week, how the younger had come to his home a little bit earlier than usual because he had made up some excuse about being sick for Woojin. It seemed that Jisung remembered too as the younger’s eyes flashed towards him before quickly returning to Woojin’s back as he began working on another task. 

“Right. You’re right, I forgot. I’d better get started then,” Jisung blurted out and began to turn away but not before Minho gently caught his wrist and turned the Shadowhunter to face him. 

“Sung, I’m free tomorrow night if you want to come over,” whispered Minho, bending close to Jisung’s ear, making the younger shiver ever so slightly. 

Minho knew exactly how to get Jisung riled up but he didn’t want to make it too obvious to Woojin. When they had started their whole arrangement, Jisung had told him that he didn’t want anyone at the Institute to know and Minho knew that it was probably because both Woojin and Changbin would flip their lids if they knew Jisung was fooling around with him. Though, now he speculated that there was probably something else with how adamant he was about keeping that secret. Quickly pulling back, he smirked at Jisung as the younger quickly nodded his head and pulled away, eyes darting to see if anyone had noticed how close he and Minho had been standing. 

It was interesting how much Jisung’s whole personality changed when he was alone with Minho. With others around, Jisung was the bright, bubbly and sometimes way too loud child that everyone was used to. But now, he was quiet, reserved, timid and Minho really couldn’t pinpoint why there was such a shift. 

Nothing more was said as Jisung dashed off towards the kitchen, not noticing Minho’s confused gaze trained on his back as he left. 

* * *

“Here we go, one orange juice. Can’t believe you’re such a rebel drinking stuff like that. I don’t know how I’m going to keep you in check for the rest of the night.”

Snorting as he thanked Hyunjin, Seungmin inhaled deeply, delighting in the scent that had hit him for the first time back at the Institute. The sweet and floral aromas that emanated from the Vampire made him feel at ease as he gestured for Hyunjin to take a seat opposite him. 

The place was quite lively for this time of night. People lined the bar ordering drinks, the music being low enough for them to keep their voices at a normal level. The golden lights set the mood and contributed to the calm ambience. To any Mundane that walked in, it looked like any other watering hole but to Seungmin, he knew that the patrons of the bar were anything but normal. 

As he looked to his left, Seungmin noticed two women tucked away into a quiet booth, wings folded closely to their back, both giggling and playing with each other’s fingers beneath the table. On his right, a group of friends were playing pool while trying to throw each other off with playful jabs and insults. That wasn’t unusual but the fluffy ears that sat atop their heads gave them away as wolves. When he turned his attention back to Hyunjin as the elder sipped on a glass of red wine, he heard the sharp fangs clinking off of the glass before he put it back down. They had let their glamours fall, comfortable enough to do so but ready to put it back up should a Mundane walk in the door, not knowing that this place was not a regular bar.

“So, how come I haven’t seen you around the Institute before? I’ve been going to the meetings since they started about two years ago but you were never there and I’m sure I would have remembered you,” Hyunjin bubbled with a teasing grin.

“I feel like I’ll be telling this story over and over again. Have to think of a way to condense it. I was born in Seoul to Shadowhunter parents, grew up in the Institute with Woojin, Jisung and Changbin. When I was twelve I was involved in the Christmas Eve incident in the city. Was pretty seriously injured, hit my head, lost my memories of who I was and what I was and since my parents died in the explosion, nobody came for me. The people at the Institute looked for me but for some reason, I managed to evade them. Been living by myself until I was attacked by a Nimh demon recently. Jisung and Changbin were the ones who saved me, revealed to me who I was and took me in. Now, I’m living back at the Institute and plan on becoming a Shadowhunter again. That’s pretty much the gist of my entire life up until now, I guess.”

Seungmin took a gulp of his drink to quench his thirst as he tried not to laugh at Hyunjin’s gobsmacked expression. 

“You can’t be serious. All of that actually happened to you? That sounds like some goddamn movie plot!” Hyunjin exclaimed. 

Nodding as he set the glass back down, Seungmin shrugged his shoulders, knowing that everyone would probably feel the same when they heard of his past. He would have to get used to explaining all of this to people again and again but it was almost comical to see the different reactions that people had given him so far. 

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, I didn’t even remember Jisung and the others. They had to show me my old room and the photos of my family but it did make me remember bits and pieces. Still, it’s been quite a crazy couple of days for me.”

“Wow, so that’s why. Wait, the Christmas Eve incident? Oh gosh, that must be ten years ago now, right? I was there that night, you know.”

Now it was Seungmin’s turn to be shocked as Hyunjin revealed the information. 

“You were? Did you get caught up in the middle of it too?”

“Oh, no. I was only there for the aftermath. I run a hotel in the city center. I take normal customers but mostly it’s somewhere that Downworlders with no homes can stay at. Kind of like a hostel, I guess.”

It was meant to just be a passing comment but Seungmin couldn’t help but smile at the Vampire’s words. If Hyunjin had been running a hotel ten years ago, Seungmin thought that he must be either immortal or similar to Minho in living a longer life since he only looked to be in his twenties. And for someone like that to devote their time to helping other Downworlders who were in need of aid, it just made the Shadowhunter feel more of an attraction towards the other. 

“But I was working that night when I heard the explosion. I told some of my coven to take over for me so that I could go and investigate. I didn’t bring anyone along because I knew that there would probably be a lot of casualties and if a Vampire doesn’t have total control like I do, smelling that much blood at once could drive them into a bloodlust.”

It was a point that Seungmin knew about when it came to legends about Vampires, of course but it suddenly occurred to Seungmin that what was in Hyunjin’s glass was probably not red wine as he had first believed. 

“I’ve experienced a lot of things in my life but what I saw there that night...I will never forget it. The blood, the screaming, the stench of dead bodies. It was awful,” Hyunjin lamented, his mind seeming a thousand miles away now, probably reliving the nightmare that was that night. “I tried to help the Shadowhunters with their investigation but we never really came up with anything. Man, I can’t believe you were there that night.” 

“Yeah but I don’t remember anything about it. Sorry, I didn’t mean to dampen the mood like that,” apologised Seungmin as he leant back in his chair, annoyed with himself for making Hyunjin’s thoughts fall back to such a horrific night. 

“Nonsense, I asked you about it. I may have seen the result but you were in the middle of it. Look, let’s not dwell on it. You’re here now and that’s what matters. But if you lost your memories, that means that you don’t know anything about the Shadow world anymore?” 

Scratching his neck, Seungmin wrinkled his nose a smidge, telling the elder that he had learned a little since he had reunited with his friends but that he was still in the dark about a lot. 

“You probably don’t know anything about Vampires then either, huh?” 

“Nope, absolutely nothing but who better than the leader of the Seoul clan to inform me?” smirked Seungmin as he picked up his glass again. 

“Ok, then,” Hyunjin burst, pushing himself up off of his chair and crossing his legs under him before sitting back down. “Well, about half of what Mundanes know about Vampires would be considered true. We are technically ‘undead’.” 

The air quotes that accompanied the roll of Hyunjin’s eyes made Seungmin snort as his eyes followed two more Vampires entering the bar, both of whom bowed towards Hyunjin as he gave a little wave before returning to his explanation. 

“The way that a human is changed into a Vampire is a little different than the legends though. When a Vampire bites someone, they transfer a certain amount of venom into the human’s system. The longer they feed off of the human, the more venom is transmitted. Only when the amount of venom overcomes the amount of blood in a human’s body will it make a difference. Also, if a human drinks enough Vampire blood that it overcomes their own, it has the same effect. Someone won’t change straight away though. A human must die a mortal death before they can turn but you can’t change someone who has already died.” 

Seungmin had to make himself sit back in his chair when he noticed he was leaning about halfway over the table, listening so intently to Hyunjin’s explanation that he was getting a few strange looks from those around him. Not from the Vampire in front of him though, Hyunjin only smiling fondly at him. 

“A new Vampire, or Fledgling, will reanimate soon after death but must consume a lot of human blood in the first twenty four hours or they will essentially wilt and die. They should also have someone close to help them through the transition, usually their sire, who is the one that changed them,” Hyunjin explained, unconsciously running his fingers over the juncture of his neck where two healed scars sat. 

“It takes a long, long,  _ long  _ time for a Fledgling to control their bloodlust and we all get there eventually but no matter how much self restraint we have, it’s always possible to lose control. Most Vampires will consume animal blood since it’s against the law to drink from a human, though some go to blood banks or shops specifically for Downworlders and get blood bags.”

Seungmin scrunched up his face at the information but immediately let it drop when he realised it was probably exceedingly rude to show such disgust at what Vampires had to eat when they couldn’t control it. Hyunjin didn’t seem offended though, scrunching up his own face before laughing.    


“We do  _ not  _ burst into flames when we come into contact with light,” Hyunjin pointed out with his finger. “If we stay out in the sun for too long though, our skin becomes irritated up to the point that we get covered in boils. We are essentially allergic to it but we can walk around for a little while without it being a problem. So, it’s usually easier for us to do whatever we need to at night but not essential. The longer you are a Vampire, the more resistance you have to it, so I can walk around outside longer than a Fledgling could.” 

That was one of the things that Seungmin was interested in since, even though the sun was setting outside, there was still a hint of the sun’s rays coating the city but Hyunjin had walked with him to the bar without any problem. Books and fairytales had lied to him growing up on that point but there were other things from stories that he wondered about but that he would never say. Things like if he could change into a bat since he had read so many things relating to the supernatural but he wasn’t going to out his childish curiosities like that. 

“The perks of becoming a Vampire are pretty cool though. We have increased strength, speed, smell, sight and hearing. We have this thing called  _ Encanto,  _ which essentially allows us to mesmerise and control people but we never use it unless absolutely necessary,” Hyunjin promised before smirking for his next point. “And, best of all, we’re immortal.”

Hyunjin had alluded to it earlier but it still made Seungmin’s eyebrows raise. From what he remembered, out of all of the species of Downworlders he had learned about so far, Vampires were the only ones who were deemed immortal. Shadowhunters and Werewolves were mortal, Faeries and Warlocks lived elongated lives but Vampires lives were without end in the mortality sense. 

“Wow and that’s something you enjoy?” questioned Seungmin, pretty much knowing the answer from the way Hyunjin laughed at the question. 

“Of course. Being immortal is seriously the greatest thing! Isn’t that what humans basically strive for? To find a way to live forever? I can do so much that I never thought I’d be able to do. Sure, there are some downsides but I always look at the positives. I wouldn’t give up being immortal for anything. Nothing compares to it.” 

It made sense to Seungmin and the way Hyunjin was talking about it made the Shadowhunter think that being immortal would be pretty cool but the nagging feeling of outliving friends and family who did not share the same immortality made Seungmin quickly shut down the idea, knowing he would never be able to handle it. 

“I see. And how is it that you became immortal?”

Mentally slapping himself as the question fell through his lips and he saw the Vampire’s head shoot up, Seungmin only realised when he had spoken the words that he had just asked Hyunjin about how he had died. Not the kind of thing you want to ask on a first date. Yes, that’s what he was calling this now because neither he nor Hyunjin had denied it when Minho had mentioned it earlier. 

“Shit, I’m sorry. Don’t answer that. That was so incredibly insensitive of me. Shut up, Seungmin,” the Shadowhunter berated himself, as he sunk back into his chair and hit himself on the forehead repeatedly, closing his eyes and continuing to whisper insults about his own stupidity quietly to himself.

Soft, slightly cold fingers grasped his wrist, thumb ghosting across his pulse point, making Seungmin look up at Hyunjin’s breathtaking smile. It couldn’t be described in any other way because Seungmin noticed he had literally stopped breathing when he looked into Hyunjin’s eyes, the elder’s scent enveloping him like a cocoon and dispersing any negative emotions that had clouded his mind. 

“Minnie, it’s ok. I’ve talked about it so much during my life that it doesn’t bother me so much anymore. Don’t worry, you didn’t offend me or anything.”

Seungmin lowered his hands, an action that let Hyunjin know he wouldn’t be harming himself for his idiocy any longer. He really thought the Vampire had a compassionate heart, furthered by the fact that he was still holding onto Seungmin’s wrist and drawing little patterns into it to soothe him after his outburst. Once Hyunjin knew that Seungmin was no longer dwelling on his slip up, he moved back to sit comfortably before taking the glass of blood in his hands again. 

“If you really want to know, I can tell you. You’ll find out about all of it eventually anyways,” Hyunjin mumbled, looking reluctant about spilling his past to Seungmin. “But are you sure you wanna know about how I died on our first date?” 

Shrugging with a bit of hesitancy, Seungmin let the other know that this whole thing was new to him and he always wanted to know more about it. If Hyunjin didn’t mind talking about it, then of course he would listen; he figured that he would end up finding out about it eventually and if Hyunjin was willing, then Seungmin was ready to hear about it. As he nodded his head slightly with the thoughts that Hyunjin had also called their first meeting a date, Seungmin sent one last reassuring smile the Vampire’s way, letting him know he could begin. 

“Alright then. I guess my story started about two hundred years ago…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My infamous cliffhangers coming into effect again. You guys are in for an awfully angsty chapter next time. It was bound to come sooner or later!


	14. Harrowing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, ok, ok. I KNOW I said that there would be a two week break from the last chapter but I wanted to finish off the Seungjin date really badly. There will more than likely be a two week break to the next chapter because I'm sick and not getting anything written at the moment but anyway!   
There are a few warnings for this chapter like blood and violence, heavy angst, as well as major character death but not really? You know what it's alluding to but just prepare yourselves! Enjoy!

_ “Hyunjin, dear, will you please take your elbows off the table?”  _

_ “Sorry, Mother.” _

_ It was a late summer afternoon when Hyunjin had gone to his mother and father’s house for dinner. He had only recently moved into his own small house a few streets over. Well, it was less of a house and more of a room with the bare essentials but he liked to call back every couple of days to make sure that they were doing ok. He was their only son after all. Sure, a lot of people would like to check in on their parents just because but Hyunjin had a very valid reason to do so.  _

_ At the time, it was a war that nobody knew about. No one from the outside world was being allowed into the country and there was certainly not a single soul being left out. Letters in and out of the country were being monitored and destroyed. In a time such as this, they were the only form of communication for most, especially a family as poor as Hyunjin’s. To their neighbouring countries, as well as those far away, their country was still peaceful and prosperous, not in the middle of a horrific civil war.  _

_ As Hyunjin had left his own home, he locked the door securely, turning around to face the spectacle ahead of him. Buildings were falling apart in front of his very eyes, the ones he used to travel to on a daily basis. The scents of cinnamon and fresh bread were no longer flowing through the streets after the bakery he loved so much had been ransacked and burned to the ground. The quaint library where he would spend a vast majority of his time was nothing more than a pile of rubble, stray pages being carried by the wind throughout the bare streets. There were a few people scattered around, some trying to clear away the debris that made it difficult to walk but compared to the city that Hyunjin remembered, it was a wasteland.  _

_ For a moment, as he sat with his parents in the dim, candlelit room, eating the small rations of rice that had been distributed, nothing of the world outside of their walls was of any consequence to him. He was calm, things were tranquil, until a rather rattling knock came upon the door. Seeing the worried look upon his mother’s face, Hyunjin cautiously rose from his seat at the dinner table and opened the door.  _

_ In front of him stood a middle aged man dressed from head to toe in military uniform, medals glistening on his lapel, a stern grimace set upon his face.  _

_ “Good evening. Is this the Hwang residence?” _

_ Nodding anxiously, Hyunjin felt bile beginning to rise up the back of his throat, fearing what it was that came next. The man pulled out a number of envelopes from his coat pocket and shuffled them until he found the one he was looking for and handed it to Hyunjin. _

_ “Here are your orders. Report to the training grounds at 0800 hours tomorrow morning for induction. Have a nice evening.”  _

_ Not even getting to reply as the man walked back down the steps, Hyunjin could already hear his mother’s distraught sobs as a cold sweat began to fall down his back.  _

_ He was aware of the rumours, about men in neighbouring cities, young and old alike, being called upon by their country. He was being drafted, he was going to be forced to fight in this pointless war that he never wanted to be a part of. But he could do absolutely nothing else except heed the call. It was an honour and a pleasure to serve your country. That’s what people were always forced to say. Hyunjin didn’t think that this was true for poor delivery boys like himself who barely made enough to get by. To the horrors of war, someone like him meant nothing. Just another body to add to the pile.  _

_ One hundred thousand. That was the number of deaths he had heard about and he was sure that it wasn’t even the real amount. No, it was undoubtedly much higher.  _

_ “No, no, no. They won’t take my son. I won’t allow it!” his mother screamed as she desperately clung to his wrinkled shirt.  _

_ “Mother, it will be alright. I will be fine. Nothing will ever take me away from you. This will all be over soon and I will return. I swear it.”  _

_ His father had always taught him to never make promises that he couldn’t keep and as he raised his head from where he had laid it on his mother’s shoulder to look into the old man’s teary eyes, he knew. That was exactly what he had just done. _

* * *

_ Three months worth of basic training compacted into a week. That’s all the time that Hyunjin had been given to grasp what it meant to be a soldier. Everyone quickly learned hand to hand combat and how to use weapons while not injuring themselves in the process but it still wasn’t enough time, even for that. Of course, someone made the point that a lot of the designated time would usually be spent learning about ethics, standards of conduct and human relations but nothing like that mattered to those in charge when all they wanted was to train these young men to kill their opposition.  _

_ Hyunjin was scared out of his god damn mind. This was not who he was. He wasn’t a hostile person in any sense. Sure, he fought with people when they pissed him off and sometimes when he pissed them off but this was on a whole different scale. As he picked up his rifle and was stuffed into the back of some horse drawn trailer, the space being far too small for all of them to be comfortable, they were quickly being transported to another base. He was told it was closer to where the fighting was but from what he had seen, the fighting was pretty much everywhere.  _

_ “Hey, kid. You ok?”  _

_ Nobody had spoken to him in the week that he had been in camp and he really couldn’t blame anyone for that because nobody wanted to get attached to one another. They weren’t stupid. They all knew that this was the end of the line for a lot of them and so, they all kept to themselves but now, someone to his left had just addressed him and Hyunjin honestly felt like he could breathe for the first time since he had gotten the letter in his parents' home.  _

_ “Who? Me?” Hyunjin babbled as he pointed to himself. _

_ The man with striking purple hair and a single earring hanging low laughed a little but not enough to draw anyone else’s attention towards their conversation. Hyunjin wasn’t going to lie, it surprised him when someone talked to him but he admitted that the man’s look astonished him even more. He surmised that the violet tint was not his natural colour but he wondered how he got it to such a shade.  _

_ “Yes, you. Your hands have been shaking since we sat down. Are you nervous?”  _

_ Hyunjin had never met this man before but he looked to be a few years older than him and for some odd reason, he felt like he could trust this person.  _

_ “I’m not nervous. I’m scared. I’m so damn terrified. This might be the last time I ever see my hometown. There’s a very real possibility that I won’t get to see my parents again. Things weren’t supposed to turn out this way. This isn’t how life is supposed to go,” Hyunjin spoke softly, feeling that familiar stinging in his eyes that had accompanied him every night he had laid down in his bed while he had been stationed at the training grounds.  _

_ “Hey, hey. Don’t talk like that. You absolutely cannot go into something like this with that kind of mindset. If you walk into a fight thinking that you are going to lose, then that’s exactly what you’re going to do. You’re not even giving yourself a chance. It may be stupid to say something like this but have a little faith.” _

_ Faith. Hyunjin wasn’t going to say it to this stranger’s face when he was doing his best to comfort him but faith had long since left his vocabulary. It was nothing more than an abstract idea at this stage but instead of telling the other that, Hyunjin just nodded and gave him the biggest smile he could muster, which wasn’t very big at all.  _

_ “I didn’t get your name,” the young man tried soothingly.  _

_ “I’m Hyunjin. Hwang Hyunjin,” he sniffled as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hands before extending one of them outwards for the other to shake. “And you are?” _

_ “Nakamoto Yuta. Nice to meet you, Hyunjin. Sorry I called you kid earlier. It’s just that a lot of you trainees look like babies to me.” _

_ For the rest of the ride, Hyunjin conversed with Yuta, feeling the weight he had been carrying for the last week beginning to disperse, slowly but surely. He learned that Yuta was not born here, travelling from Japan at a young age with his parents and willingly volunteering to fight for the country he had come to love so much. He had been training for the last year and was a lot more experienced when it came to the horrors that this war brought along with it. Being twenty seven, he was five years older than Hyunjin and gave off such a brotherly vibe that Hyunjin ended up with his head resting on the elder’s shoulder while they spoke.  _

_ “Being in a squad is the same as being on a team, Hyunjin. You have to watch each other’s backs. That ‘solitary soldier’ shit they taught you back there? Don’t pay any attention to it. To survive this, you need people you can rely on. That’s why I’m going to look out for you and you’re going to look out for me. We’re in this together, ok?”  _

_ It may have been a coincidence or maybe something that would be considered as divine intervention but Hyunjin knew that Yuta was sent to him to help him get through this. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy by any standard, that the thoughts of fighting would undoubtedly keep him up at night but now, he felt like the odds were no longer against him because he wasn’t alone anymore.  _

_ “Yeah. We’re in this together. Thanks, Yuta.” _

_ As the elder patted Hyunjin’s thigh in comfort, neither of them seemed to notice the stares they were getting from the other occupants of the trailer, many of their eyes shining with unshed tears as they listened to the reassuring words between two new friends, ones that made everyone think that they just may have a chance of getting through this, a chance to return home and a chance to see the families that they loved once again.  _

* * *

_ Yuta had kept his promise to watch Hyunjin’s back as they braved the storm together. After hearing the inspiring words of the young man as they travelled to their destination, even those who Hyunjin had trained with but never spoke to were throwing him smiles, helping him out and even engaging in light conversation when they built up the courage. It may not have been his intention but this was something that Yuta had perhaps subconsciously done and it was helping Hyunjin out in a rather tremendous way. He was surrounded by those who held the same fears as he did but they could also offer comfort since they knew exactly what everyone was going through.  _

_ When they had entered their first battle against the rebels, they all quite literally shook in their boots. Nobody particularly thought that they were ready or prepared to face something like this but Yuta stood in front of them as their commander and gave a speech so uplifting that each word was like a little bit of courage squirming its way into each one of their souls.  _

_ It didn’t wash away the inner hate and turmoil that would make Hyunjin feel like he was suffocating when he would slash an enemy’s chest or use his rifle to shoot straight through a person’s heart as his fingers trembled with such ferocity that he was afraid they would reach him and end his life before he could pull the trigger.  _

_ That day concluded with Hyunjin’s side being victorious but as with every war, even in victory, there were casualties. There were young men lying dead on the ground that shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Hyunjin never got his name but as he stared into the glazed over eyes of one of his comrades, it crossed his mind that he couldn’t have been more than seventeen years old. He should have had so much ahead of him but this war had stripped him of any chance of extending his life beyond this battlefield. It wasn’t right and it certainly wasn’t fair but there was nothing to be done about it.  _

_ It was an image that wouldn’t leave Hyunjin’s mind for some time and as he awoke screaming from a nightmare that night where his comrades continually died around him as he stood and watched, he latched onto the hand that was outstretched, waiting to comfort him as he tried to come back to reality.  _

_ “Shh, Hyunjinnie, you’re alright. It was just a dream. I’m right here. Breathe for me.” _

_ Hyunjin wept as quietly as he could into Yuta’s chest, doing his best not to wake up the others around him. They needed rest after such an exhausting day and Hyunjin couldn’t deny them of the small amount of sleep that they would get. His throat was raw and his eyes swollen as he eventually began to calm down but never, not once did Yuta lessen the comforting and grounding grip around Hyunjin’s waist as he patted the back of the younger’s head to calm him.  _

_ “I’m sorry. You can go back to sleep, Yuta. I didn’t mean to wake you.”  _

_ “I wasn’t sleeping, Hyunjinnie. Besides, I’ve been there. Don’t think that you’re the only one who has these dreams,” Yuta reassured, carefully laying Hyunjin back down onto his pillows as he pushed his nimble fingers through the younger’s hair.  _

_ “Do...do you think tomorrow will go well?” _

_ They had been informed that they would be pushing into enemy territory at the crack of dawn the following day, even though most of them would still be completely drained after what they went through today. It brought them closer and closer to a death sentence, sending in soldiers that were too sleep deprived to function but then again, once they had been disposed of, the next round of trainees would just take their place.  _

_ “What did I tell you on the first day we met, Hyunjinnie?” _

_ “Don’t go into a battle thinking that you will lose or that’s exactly what you will do.”  _

_ Yuta smiled in the darkness, Hyunjin barely able to make out the quirk of his lips; partly because the room was pitch black and partly because he was falling asleep as the elder continued to pat his head.  _

_ “Good. Now, try and get some more rest. We’ll all need it.” _

_ As Yuta moved to get up and move back to his own bed, Hyunjin’s hand shot out and grabbed the other’s wrist, the action conveying what he could not say out loud. Not waiting for Hyunjin to ask, Yuta moved back towards him and gestured for him to move over to allow him to lie down. It was amazing really, how safe Yuta made him feel. As a thumb gently worked out the knots in his back, Hyunjin allowed himself to fall back into the land of dreams, knowing that Yuta would be beside him to fight off any unsavoury ones that came his way.  _

* * *

_ “Hyunjin! To your left!” _

_ Hearing the warning but not knowing who or where it came from, Hyunjin barely had time to lift his sword, blocking the swing that came his way and allowing him to counter before slashing it across the enemy’s neck, the blood splattering his face, making him wince. He wanted to spill the miniscule breakfast he had consumed this morning right back up but he didn’t have time to do that when he heard one of his squadmates scream before crumbling to the ground.  _

_ Nothing made sense after that. Hyunjin did his best to keep a clear head, to help out those in need beside him but he couldn’t be everywhere at once and when he looked around, he knew that they were fighting a losing battle. The opposition was too many, fighters that shouldn’t have been as skilled as they were but they were dominating them in battle, one that Hyunjin knew he probably wouldn’t see the end of.  _

_ Looking through the mass of bodies, he did his best to try and find Yuta as he used his rifle to fire at blank point range, sending a bullet right into the head of an enemy. With the elder nowhere in sight, Hyunjin felt his heart rate pick up and it was like he was right back to square one. He couldn’t do this alone and at the moment, he had never felt more forsaken in all his life.  _

_ Hyunjin fought. He fought like more than his own life was at stake. There were people counting on him, people waiting for him to come back home, people who would miss him. He couldn’t give up. He couldn’t, he couldn’t, he couldn’t… _

_ And then, it came. The physical pain he was experiencing was nothing to the sense of hopelessness and anguish that swirled around in his mind. Raising his hand, he grabbed the blade now protruding from his chest, knowing that the enemy that had just stabbed him would soon be retrieving his sword to continue to fight. The metallic taste flooding his mouth and the tremors wracking his body told him one thing: that he would not be seeing the sun set on this day.  _

_ As the sword left his chest, leaving a gaping wound, Hyunjin fell to the ground, slapping his head off of the solid dirt beneath. Heaving as he tried to breathe in the midst of his blood crawling up his throat, he could still hear the screams, the clang of swords, the bullets flying through the air before it all became quiet, too quiet and his vision began to fade to black.  _

_ The sound of boots scraping off of the dirt echoed beside his head, making Hyunjin grasp onto the last bit of life within his failing body, his hand curling around the leg of the person that stood above him. Even if his eyesight was failing him, he could tell that it was an enemy based on their clothing; it was not one of his comrades who would save him. Still, Hyunjin begged, hoping that some sense of morality could be found within this person.  _

_ “What is it, boy? You want to live so badly that you would ask your adversary?” _

_ Hyunjin didn’t know if this man was playing with him but he must have realised that Hyunjin barely had the strength to answer him, his body becoming colder by the second.  _

_ “And would you wish to survive even if your soul was damned for all eternity? Is that truly what you want?”  _

_ The man was now bent down on his knees, face hovering so close to Hyunjin’s that the dying young man could make out the glowing, ruby irises that stared back at him. He had no idea what the man meant with his questions, he assumed it was the blood loss making him delirious but all that was going through his head was how much he wanted to go home, how much he wanted to see his parents, how much he still had to experience. How much he wanted to live.  _

_ “Please,” Hyunjin slurred as he coughed to clear his airways, the action making his whole body spasm. “Help...”  _

_ That was all he managed before he let his hand fall limp and his eyes closed. Feeling like he was floating on air, Hyunjin realised that dying wasn’t as painful as he thought it would be. He finally felt like he was at peace, even if he didn’t want to go. He was no longer in agony.  _

_ Until he was.  _

_ A sharp and unparalleled burn began to spread throughout his body, the man holding onto his throat with a tenacious grip as he sunk his teeth into the side of his neck. Hyunjin’s eyes shot open as a silent scream ripped its way out of his throat. He didn’t want this anymore. He had just begged for his life and now, he only wished for death.  _

_ The pain he was experiencing slowly faded and began to feel strangely euphoric. Whatever this man- no,  _ thing _ was doing to him, he no longer wished for it to stop. It was beginning to lull him back to unconsciousness, the sound of his own heart in his ears beginning to slow down until he could no longer detect it. He didn’t struggle anymore. In fact, he couldn’t, even if he wanted to. It was just like falling asleep and as he took his final breath, the sharp teeth that were implanted in his neck retracted and the man stood up above him.  _

_ “I wonder if you will be relieved when you wake. This life can be hell. Especially when one is on one’s own.”  _

* * *

_ He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe. But it felt like he didn’t need to.  _

_ Hyunjin’s hands tried to push away the weight in front of him and he soon realised that one of his worst fears was after coming to life.  _

_ He had been buried alive.  _

_ But he contemplated how he had actually managed to survive. In his head though, he knew that wasn’t the thing to be worried about at the moment. Whoever had done this to him hadn’t even had the decency to place him in a container of any kind; they had simply shoveled dirt upon him but he was thankful in a way since it made it just a tad easier to claw his way out to the surface. When his hand broke through and he could finally inhale the putrid air, Hyunjin began to thank his lucky stars that he hadn’t suffocated but he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t. Any and all thoughts of how he had managed to survive dispersed when he saw the battleground he had fought on.  _

_ Bodies. As far as the eye could see. There was nothing but bodies. None of them moving as the wind whistled around him. He should have been horrified, repelled, sickened but he wasn’t because nothing overcame the feeling of hunger that hit him harder than anything before.  _

_ He felt like he hadn’t consumed anything in years, his throat burning from being unimaginably parched and the smell that surrounded him didn’t help him in any way. It was the most alluring thing that he had ever experienced but he wasn’t sure what it could have been in a place like this. The stench of rotting bodies should have been the only thing polluting the air but the aroma that was carried by the wind was making Hyunjin’s hunger feel insatiable. It caused his hands to shake, his teeth to break the skin of his lips, his feet to begin moving on their own before he was standing over a random body lying on its stomach. Before he even knew what he was doing, Hyunjin bit into the person’s neck, eyes blowing wide at the flavour that flooded his mouth. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted, so he kept drinking, not even registering that he was actually draining someone of their blood. But he continued to do so because as he persisted, his mind became clearer, his thoughts becoming somewhat comprehensible and when he realised that he was latched onto some poor, dead soul, he withdrew his teeth and scooted backwards.  _

_ “Oh, god, what did I just do?” Hyunjin coughed, placing his fingers upon his lips, raising them in front of his eyes and seeing them coated with blood. _

_ Looking at the body he had just desecrated, he crawled closer whispering apologies and looking at the two puncture marks in the man’s neck. What kind of a monster was he that he would bite a dead body in the middle of a battlefield? And a comrade at that. The corpse dressed in the same military uniform as his own was still warm but the lack of a pulse when Hyunjin checked for one let him know that they were indeed dead.  _

_ In a flash, the feelings of disgust and heartache amplified because, when he saw the silver earring covered in dried blood dangling from the dead man’s ear, he realised that not only had he drank the blood of one of his squad but that he had defiled one of his best friends, the person who had taken him under his wing, someone he had considered a brother. When Hyunjin turned the young man onto his back, he broke down into nothing but sobs, the feeling of tears welling up in his eyes and spilling over. But when they landed on the dead body of his friend, he realised that it wasn’t water coming from his eyes.  _

_ “Y-Yuta…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Please, wake up. I need you. I really, really need you right now.”  _

_ Of course, no replies came his way. Hyunjin didn’t even know how long he sat there, grasping onto the front of Yuta’s blood soaked shirt, fingers ghosting over the two bullet holes that stained the elder’s stomach. The confusion bombarding him eventually made him rise onto his feet and begin walking because he knew he wasn’t going to get any answers lying around in this wasteland and Yuta was not going to be waking up to guide him like he had always done. He didn’t even know what direction he was going or where he was headed but he knew he needed to get away from the smell that had his stomach rumbling again.  _

* * *

_ Hyunjin had wandered. He had wandered so far and for so long but there was no longer any place for him to return to.  _

_ That was not just because he knew he was turning into some sort of abhorrent monster, whose only thoughts were attacking people and drinking their blood. The moment the sun began to rise over the hills as he walked, he began to feel weak, his skin becoming itchy and sore, like sunburn beginning to coat his skin, even though he had only been out in the daylight for about fifteen minutes. Trying to stay in the shadows as best he could, Hyunjin attempted to keep on moving, even if he felt famished and weary.  _

_ As night approached again, he continued through some derelict fields, catching sight of a rabbit, more than a quarter of a mile away and sprinting towards it before doing exactly what he had done to Yuta on the battlefield. Hyunjin shouldn’t have been able to see it, he shouldn’t have been able to smell it but he had and the taste of the animal’s blood was relieving in a way but in a very horrific sense, he thought that it hadn’t quenched his thirst quite as well as his friend’s blood had.  _

_ His sense of alienation came from something else. For some reason, he had actually managed to find his way back home but he wasn’t sure how. It was like some sort of sense was leading him there, like his feet automatically knew what steps to take to bring him back to where his journey began. _

_ However, when he took the first step into the city he grew up in, no sounds filled his ears, the warmth that he should have felt in his heart was absent, the light from the overhanging sun being veiled by the ribbons of smoke drifting upwards, which gave Hyunjin a slight sense of respite from the burn of his skin but the cause did not comfort him in any way.  _

_ His home had been all but burned to the ground. It was like a never ending nightmare, the same scene playing over and over again in his head as he saw the corpses of people he knew, his neighbours, his family lying on the streets in front of him and it was then that Hyunjin knew that their loss on the battlefield cost a lot more than the lives who had fought the battle. Those whom they had failed to defeat had made their way forwards, attacking and murdering innocent people, whose only crime was living their lives peacefully.  _

_ As he stopped in front of his house, the bodies of his mother and father wrapped around each other as they lay in their own blood made Hyunjin gag, the young man falling backwards and trying his goddamn best not to sully them the way that he had Yuta. They deserved better than that, just as his friend had but he knew that if he stayed around here much longer, he would not be able to control the rapacious side of himself that would cause him to do such a thing.  _

_ Hyunjin got up and ran. To where, he did not know. All he knew was that he couldn’t stay. Besides, there was nothing left for him here. The person he used to be, the home he had lived in, the life he had chosen to follow. None of it was there anymore.  _

* * *

_ “Hey, are you alright there?”  _

_ Hyunjin had made his way to the next neighbouring town, one which had not yet seen the horrors that his own city had suffered. It seemed to be upholding some sort of functionality but Hyunjin had only managed to visit the center before his cravings once again came to the fore and he wanted nothing more than to bite someone and drink every last drop of their blood. So, he decided to stay on the outskirts, in a forest that provided him enough cover from the elements and also a wide range of wildlife that seemed to sate the hunger he had been feeling nonstop since that fateful day a week ago.  _

_ And since then, he had no interaction with people, only returning to the town in the dead of night when hardly anyone was around to see if he could gather some supplies. Maybe he stole from people’s laundry in their backyards for some warmth as winter began to approach but he didn’t feel good about it in anyway. He had also tried to sneak food from an open window of someone’s house but Hyunjin quickly found out that his stomach could no longer keep down what was considered to be human food because, he now assumed that, he was no longer human.  _

_ So, when a voice very quietly addressed him as he tried to grab a coat from someone’s folded clothes in a basket on their doorstep, he turned around and hissed rather loudly, forgetting that he was not supposed to reveal anything about himself to anyone. He was sure that they would kill him straight away if they figured out that he was no longer human. When Hyunjin zoned in on the person, he quickly blocked his nose by pinching it, the smell of wet dog bombarding him in a very unwelcome way.  _ __   
  


_ “Woah, little one, it’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you. But don’t you know that you can’t bear your fangs out in the open like that?” _

_ Whimpering at the scolding, Hyunjin jumped and used his other hand to cover his mouth and hide the sharp teeth that had slipped past his lips. Clamping the hand over his mouth and holding his nose should have caused a problem when it came to breathing but that was another point that Hyunjin had figured out lately. He no longer needed to breathe to stay alive.  _

_ The man in front of him looked strange, in more ways than one and the observation made him cringe a little when he thought about the fact that he had thought the same thing about Yuta when he had first met him. Blue hair and two scratches across his eyebrow with two ears full of beautiful jewellery, the man was really something ethereal and the way he was looking at Hyunjin made him feel strangely safe, though, he wasn’t sure if all of his instincts were correct quite yet.  _

_ “How old are you? You seem pretty young,” the man inquired, not moving any closer towards Hyunjin, staying in place with his hands behind his back and a gentle smile on his lips.  _

_ “Twenty two.” _

_ “No, not your human age. How long since you were turned?” _

_ “Turned into what?” _

_ The man huffed but not in a way that made Hyunjin feel like he had just angered him. Rather, it held a note of sympathy.  _

_ “So, our theory was correct. You have no idea what you are. Where is your sire?”  _

_ Hyunjin tilted his head slightly, not understanding how this man was not disgusted by him and what he had become. It was almost as if he knew exactly what Hyunjin was and if he was being honest, it gave Hyunjin just a little bit of hope that he may not have to go through this alone.  _

_ “My what?”  _

_ “Ok, I think I have some explaining to do. Come with me.” _

_ Hyunjin really didn’t have the strength to disagree, taking the young man’s hand and allowing himself to be pulled towards the other.  _

_ “My name is Hongjoong, little one. I am from the Praetor Lupus and I’m here to help you. I think things will be hard for you for a little while but I will look after you. You need not worry anymore.”  _

* * *

“As you probably already know from your history lessons, the rebels were defeated and our side won the war but it was really a pyrrhic victory. We lost so much and the death toll was substantial. I got to see how it all turned out too but the fighting that occurred, the destruction and death, it wasn’t worth it. But, then again, is war ever really worth it?” 

Hyunjin’s eyes began to focus back in on his glass as he came back to the present, locking his memories back away, not wanting to relive them again any time soon. 

“After that, Hongjoong sat me down and explained what he thought happened when I told him my story. The Praetor Lupus is a self governing group of Werewolves who are basically like guardians. They track down orphaned Downworlders such as newly turned Werewolves and Vampires or Warlocks who have no idea what they are and help them come to understand. Hongjoong assisted me in finding my first clan, who taught me everything I needed to know and I really couldn’t be more grateful to him for that.” 

Hongjoong had been right, it was exceedingly hard for him in the beginning after the elder had found him but everything had worked out eventually for Hyunjin but not before he had experienced a lot of trouble. Trying to learn to control his bloodlust and become accustomed to the enhanced sounds and smells around him was certainly no picnic. Of course, he didn’t believe Hongjoong at first because, why would he? It was ludicrous and wildly implausible but as time went on, he understood all of the things that were happening to him and how they correlated with what Hongjoong had told him. It was horrifying, what it was that he had to get used to but in the end, he was glad that he had been given a second chance at life and his first clan had been such a great help to him. 

“Both Hongjoong and my clan were appalled that my sire would leave me like that, not caring about someone he turned. But it’s not like I really care anymore. That Vampire is dead. I felt it one day about fifty years ago, the pain he went through when he passed,” Hyunjin informed Seungmin as he sipped on the blood in his glass.

The head of his previous clan had told him that if his sire ever died, he would feel the same pain as the Vampire felt when he was experiencing death. Since Vampire’s couldn’t die of natural causes, it must have meant that someone or something killed him but Hyunjin really had no sympathy for the one who had turned him, only to leave him confused and alone, not understanding what had happened to him.

“In retrospect, Hongjoong was pretty much my saviour. Since he was a Werewolf and they’re not immortal, he has long since passed but we had some really good times before he did. He was one of my best friends and I still miss him to this day.” 

Hyunjin smiled at the thought of the hyperactive Werewolf that had been so kind as to look after him in his time of need, even if he wasn’t supposed to keep contact with him after he had gotten him settled into his clan but Hongjoong had never been one for sticking to rules. 

“Anyways, that’s my rather depressing life story. Are you sorry you asked n- hey, Minnie, what’s the matter?” 

Hyunjin became rather alarmed when he finally looked up at Seungmin for his reaction, only to see the Shadowhunter with tears cascading down his pale face. 

“God, I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise for crying, Minnie. Just tell me what-”

“No. I mean I’m sorry you had to go through something like that. Hyunjin, you poor thing. I can’t imagine what all of that must have been like for you,” Seungmin wept, reaching across the table to grab both of Hyunjin’s hands. 

Shaking his head a little, Hyunjin couldn’t help but feel a pang of pain in his chest when he saw Seungmin bawling because of him. That shouldn’t happen; Seungmin needed to smile, he should always be smiling. Any time he had spoken of his story to others, nobody could seem to hide the slight unease when hearing about how he had fed off of his best friend, even if he wasn’t in control of himself in that moment. The only exception had been his friends from the Institute, the ones he had met through coincidence as he attended the meetings, though none of them had a reaction as adverse as this. 

“Minnie, no, it’s alright. I had to endure some stuff but don’t we all?”

“Not like that, Hyunjin. Nobody should  _ ever  _ have to go through something like that.” 

The bright soul that belonged to Seungmin was shining through once again and pulling Hyunjin’s damned one towards it. He already knew. He knew there was absolutely no escape for him now. Whether he liked it or not, Hyunjin needed to have Seungmin in his life. There was no question about that anymore. Not just because of the pull he had been feeling towards the red headed Shadowhunter since the moment he laid eyes upon him but because Hyunjin knew that he would never find anyone who was the embodiment of the word ‘perfect’ in every sense that he could possibly think of. 

“Unfortunately, I did but there are some upsides to all of it. Like I told you before, I gained immortality, possess plenty of cool abilities that I never thought possible, met people like Hongjoong, my clan and everyone at the Institute who are the most important people in my life. And, of course, my circumstances allowed me to meet you.” 

Maybe it wasn’t the time for shameless flirting after seeing the way that Seungmin reacted to his past but Hyunjin couldn’t help himself. He wanted to lighten the mood and put that stunning smile back on Seungmin’s face. Luckily for him, it seemed to work as the younger chuckled a little, taking the tissue that Hyunjin offered him and blowing his nose.   


“Sungie is going to kill me. He worked so hard to do my hair and make up and now I’ve got snot and tears messing up my face. I’m sorry if I look like a mess now. Probably not what you want to hang out with, being such an important person and all.” 

Hyunjin was about to ask Seungmin what he meant but after the redhead’s tears had started, he knew that they were getting a few concerned looks and Seungmin probably thought that they were stares of embarrassment for them but Hyunjin knew that people were just being nosy and wondering why the head of the Seoul clan had just made a Shadowhunter cry. 

“You could just be getting up out of bed in the morning and I would want to hang out with you. You’re absolutely gorgeous, even with snot dripping onto your jeans,” Hyunjin tried playfully as Seungmin’s eyes dropped down to see that his jeans were still spotless and the Vampire was just messing with him. “It’s nice that you think that I’m important.” 

Seungmin threw the tissue he had been using to wipe his nose back at Hyunjin, causing the Vampire to gag and the Shadowhunter laugh rather loudly, making Hyunjin’s heart do that fluttering thing that had been happening since he had met the younger man. They talked for a while longer, each exchanging some more stories about their pasts and their hopes for the future. A couple of hours later, Hyunjin said that they should probably head back to the Institute. It was nearing midnight and the Vampire really didn’t want to die by Woojin’s hands for keeping Seungmin out longer than they had agreed. If Hyunjin didn’t know any better, he would have said that Seungmin almost looked disappointed as he dropped him off at the door and bid him goodnight with a small wink before turning away to walk back to his hotel for the night. 

“Hyunjin, wait.”

The Vampire had barely turned around before he felt soft lips upon his cheek, a gentle kiss being bestowed upon him from a blushing Seungmin who took a few steps back and smiled angelically at him. 

“Thank you for tonight. I really enjoyed myself. Everything has been a bit overwhelming in the last couple of days, being thrown into the middle of a new life and having to find out so much about myself but you made all of that disappear for me tonight and I really appreciate it. If it’s alright with you, I’d love to do this again.”

Hyunjin’s brain short circuited and if he actually needed to breathe, he knew that he would be gasping for air after what Seungmin had just so bravely done. Needing to get his thoughts in order as the Shadowhunter stared expectantly at him, Hyunjin quickly yelled a “yes, of course, I would really love that too. I’ll call you,” before Seungmin giggled and disappeared inside of the Institute. 

It was really just as Hyunjin had thought: he wouldn’t be able to leave Seungmin alone anymore. He, without a doubt, needed to have this sweet young man in his life from now on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so awful for doing that to Hyunjinnie but alas, I must release the angst at some point.   
Also, in case anyone is interested, I'm doing a giveaway on my Twitter account for Skz's new album Clé: Levanter. You don't have to follow me or anything and it's my pinned tweet so, if you guys wanna check it out, please do! See you (probably) in a couple of weeks!


	15. Maudlin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I managed to stick to my two week break this time. I'm sorry that it's taking me longer that usual. Really struggling with writers block at the moment but it will pass. There may be one more two week break and hopefully I'll be back to normal after that. Introductions to a new character this week. I hope you'll like them! On we go.

Quite honestly, Woojin wasn’t expecting Seungmin to arrive back to the Institute on time. This wasn’t because of any other reason but the fact that Hyunjin, when allowed to do so, would talk the ear off of anybody once he got started. Factors such as other people, namely Jisung, may prohibit him from speaking so much usually but when he was with someone like Seungmin, a rather gentle and subdued soul, Woojin knew that it would be Hyunjin’s time to shine. Other than that, he got the feeling simply from how the two had interacted early, when he had caught a glimpse of them before they had left, that there was absolutely no awkwardness between them, which, contrary to what one may think, he was rather glad to see. Minho didn’t know what he was talking about when he had called him overprotective and a ‘scary dad who would wait in a darkened corner of a room for his son to return from a date.’ Of course he wouldn’t do something like that. 

It meant absolutely nothing that Changbin and Jisung had already retired for the night as he sat on a bench in the entrance hallway, turning his head swiftly every time the door cracked open. It wasn’t strange; that’s what he was telling himself anyways. He just wanted to make sure that Seungmin got back safe and on time like they had agreed. As another Shadowhunter named Minhyuk returned, squinting at Woojin to basically ask why he was waiting by the front door at this hour of the night, the raven haired man simply motioned for him to go to bed and didn’t answer the unasked question. Woojin sulked a little when he realised that Minho may have made a rather valid point but there is no way that he would tell the Warlock that. Nobody could afford to give him a bigger head than he already had.

It was at seven minutes to midnight that the door finally opened to reveal who it was he had been waiting for. Seungmin began to almost tiptoe on the carpeted floor, wincing and shushing the door as it creaked. Woojin found it amusing that he was being so considerate trying not to make any noise when returning so late in the night. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t know that since Shadowhunters from the Institute were constantly away on missions, they would come home at all hours, not worrying about waking anybody up. There were always people on the night shift too, so everyone living at the Institute were more than used to a little noise at every hour of the day. Still, Seungmin tried his best to sneak back into his new home before he stopped and caught sight of Woojin waiting for him on the sidelines. 

“How long have you been waiting there?” 

“About five minutes. Or thirty, I didn’t really keep track. It doesn’t matter. I’m glad to see that you follow orders better than Sungie and Bin. There have been many a night when I’ve set a curfew for them and they’ve stayed out past the allotted time. Nice to see that someone listens to me,” Woojin praised, trying to get Seungmin’s attention away from the fact that he had basically confessed that he had been waiting to see if the redhead would give him a reason to scold him on his very first night out. 

“To be perfectly candid, I probably would have stayed out longer with Hyunjin,” Seungmin began, halting as soon as he saw the disheartened look upon the eldest Shadowhunter’s face. “But only because I lost track of time! Not because I wasn’t listening to you. I was just having a really great time.” 

Woojin tried to calm Seungmin’s anxiety about betraying him by physically holding down his wildly gesturing hands. He had become so used to Jisung and Changbin brushing him off when he tried to make them feel guilty about staying out and having him worry that when Seungmin gave a completely different reaction, he wasn’t quite sure how to respond. 

“It is a relief that I won’t have to kill Hyunjin for making you stay out so late and I’m glad that you seemed to have such a good time with him,” Woojin teased, gently patting Seungmin’s shoulder when he saw that the younger didn’t seem bothered by his tormenting. 

“Yeah, I did. He’s a really great guy. We learned a lot about each other. He said he’d call me so that we could do it again.” 

Staring at the top of Seungmin’s head as the younger kicked at the ground abashedly, Woojin couldn’t help but notice how much Seungmin had actually come out of his shell in the few days he had been here with them. When he was a child, Seungmin had always been a tad more reserved but he had always been thankful for that because if he had to deal with two Jisungs, Woojin was sure he would have promptly lost his marbles. After he had been attacked and brought back to the Institute, Woojin noticed that Seungmin still held that reticent trait within himself but it seemed that his inner walls were slowly starting to crumble to reveal an entirely different person, one that Woojin couldn’t wait to get to know better. 

“Just know that we’ve been friends with Hyunjin for a while now and I can promise you that he is one of the most caring people you will ever meet. I’m pleased that you got along so well. Hyunjinnie’s usually a little hesitant when becoming friends with humans,” Woojin supplied, noticing the slight frown on Seungmin’s face. “Just because of his immortality and the fact that he…” 

Woojin knew that Seungmin understood when the younger nodded slightly, a sad realisation turning his lips downwards. 

“He’s had it pretty rough too, his past held a lot of pain for him, Minnie. So, if he’s not forthcoming about some things, don’t hold it against-”

“Hyunjin already told me about his past.” 

That shocked Woojin more than a little bit. While Hyunjin was more accepting of how he had been turned, he still held a little guilt, especially about what he had done to Yuta. If he had shared such details with Seungmin, there must be something very special about this young man for the Vampire. 

“Oh, I see. Well, that’s good. You have some more training with Bin tomorrow, so I suggest you get a little rest,” Woojin advised gently, leading Seungmin down the hallway, resting his hand on the small of the younger’s back. 

“Fantastic. He’s a great trainer and he certainly knows what he’s doing but sometimes…”

“You want to punch him in the nose?”

Woojin laughed heartily when he saw Seungmin’s jaw drop open with his head bobbing uncontrollably. That was everyone’s opinion on Changbin’s training techniques in the end. He was one of the best, a Shadowhunter with one of the greatest reputations when it came to fighting but he was also wildly competitive and ruthless when it came to training new recruits. This was one of the reasons that many who did not know him thought that Changbin was unapproachable and harsh, even though the young man was literally the softest person in the world. 

“May your dreams be filled with beating Bin’s ass in training then. Hopefully, you’ll get to do it one day for real.”

It was now Seungmin’s turn to giggle unrestrainedly before he hugged Woojin goodnight and disappeared inside his room but not before thanking the eldest Shadowhunter for waiting up for him to make sure he was safe. Again, something Woojin was more than a little unused to. 

“Goodnight, Minnie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

There was a tinge of warmth in Woojin’s heart when he left Seungmin’s room, doing his nightly rounds to make sure everyone was well before looking into both Jisung and Changbin’s room, confirming both were sleeping soundly in their beds. As he returned to his own room, Woojin turned out the lights, climbing into his cold bed, nights like these reminding him of those wonderful memories when another body would warm his bed that he would relish and share in. It mattered no longer and as long as those under his care were safe, that was all that was important. 

* * *

Feeling a soft caress against his face, Jisung began to feel giddy, stupidly so when he imagined a certain someone waking him up this way. It was so gentle, comforting but Jisung came to the very quick realisation that it wasn’t fingers running across his cheek. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was in his own room. Alone, without anyone beside him. Well, he was _ almost  _ alone. 

As he jolted upwards, wondering what had been touching his face, Jisung noticed Bomi lying at the end of his bed, staring at him after the sudden movement that had disturbed her rest. However, that wasn’t the only thing that he noticed. Fanned all around his duvet were feathers, bright and golden, around twenty or so when Jisung did a quick count. It looked like something had gone to town on some poor bird and while Jisung would have promptly disregarded the idea at any other time, there was a perfect suspect purring sweetly at him with innocent eyes. 

“Bomi,” Jisung fretted as he picked up a feather and turned it over in his hand, “cutie, what did you do?” 

It almost seemed as if the feline understood that Jisung was bothered by something as she made her way up towards the head of the bed and began to nuzzle into his chest before settling on the young man’s lap. She seemed content, not at all guilty about any crime and when Jisung scanned the rest of his room, he could see nothing to indicate that something had gone amiss. Surely there would be blood or a carcass if Bomi had killed some poor animal during the night but there was nothing of the sort. He had also made sure to close his windows before sleeping, just as he would every night from now on due to the fact he was worried about Bomi wandering off and never returning, so there was no way an injured bird could have escaped. Instead, Jisung was left wondering about the mysterious feathers that he gathered up and deposited into the trash can before getting dressed and picking up Bomi to get some breakfast. 

“Morning, Sung and...Bomi,” Woojin snorted at the cat who had made herself comfortable sitting on the younger man’s shoulders. 

“”Morning, Wooj! Ready for another fun filled day?” Jisung all but yelled with conviction as he saw Woojin look up from his book as they walked and roll his eyes. 

“God, I hate how happy you are in the morning. You should be sleepy and morose like the rest of us. Go and get something to eat and then meet me in my office in an hour before you go on patrol with Bin.”

Jisung nodded and asked Woojin if he wanted to accompany him, with the elder saying that he had already eaten but Jisung doubted that. Woojin prefered to be awake for a little while before eating, taking care of everything that needed to be done first. Now, it looked like he had just gotten up out of bed but Jisung decided to let the lie slide. This time. Just as he was about to leave Woojin, Jisung paused and thought about the fact that he hadn’t bought anything for the feline curled around his neck to eat yesterday. 

“Sungie, I got Dahyun to pick up some cat food on the way home last night. It’s in the cupboard above the stove in the kitchen.” 

It may not have seemed like much but it was the little things like this that really made Jisung appreciate Woojin and how much he took care of them. He didn’t even need to voice what he had been thinking about before the elder had picked up on it. Not only that, Woojin had already anticipated his needs before Jisung was even aware of them. He only wished that he could do the same for Woojin, especially in recent times. 

“You are the absolute best, Wooj!” squealed Jisung, giving the other a quick hug before dashing off to the dinning hall with the cat who got an abundance of compliments throughout the morning. 

* * *

“Tell me everything! How did it go? Did he like your outfit? What did you talk about? Was the bar really crowded? He did make sure to walk you home, right? Was he nice to you? Do I have to dropkick his ass?”

Placing his hands on the sides of Jisung’s face, Seungmin very firmly told him to breathe before he passed out. They had all gathered in Woojin’s office after they had eaten breakfast together, with the exception of the leader. Seungmin had been informed that Changbin and Jisung would be absent for the majority of the day since it was their turn to safeguard the streets and while Seungmin actually wanted to go with them, he knew without having to be informed by the others that he just wasn’t ready yet. His disappointment was picked up on by all of them though, with Changbin promising that he would be back later in the evening so that they could pick up on their training again, assuring him that he would be a respectable fighter in no time. Seungmin was not entirely sure if this was good or bad news, considering how utterly drained he was after yesterday’s drill, so much so that he conked out for a good ten hours. 

Just as Seungmin was about to divulge the story of what had occurred last night between him and Hyunjin, a booming shriek made him jump on the spot and caused his mouth to clamp shut. 

“You tell me where he is right now or I will have all of you fired! Do you hear me? Fired!” 

Four sets of eyes shot towards the door, the only thing separating them from the shrill cry threatening the people beyond with their jobs. Seungmin was sure that he was unfamiliar with the voice coming closer and closer to the room and from what he could hear, he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to come face to face with whoever continued to shout, demanding to know where a certain person was. 

“She’s back? Already? I thought you said it wouldn’t be until tomorrow!” Jisung gasped, jumping out of his chair and locking eyes with Changbin who simply huffed as he continued to flip through the book he had been reading. 

“Apparently she’s early. God, she’s so dramatic. You always hear her before you see her.” 

Not even getting a chance to inquire as to who they were talking about, Seungmin felt his shoulders being grabbed as he was directed towards the bathroom by Jisung before being pushed inside. The slightly elder Shadowhunter cupped his face and sent him a despairing look. 

“Minnie, if you want to stay safe, please stay in here and don’t come out until we tell you. If we don’t make it, just know that we love you. Look after Bomi for me when I’m gone and tell her that I love her too, ok?” 

“Wh- Jisung, wait!” was all Seungmin managed to get out before the door slammed in his face, bouncing back a little so that it didn’t close properly, leaving a small crack that Seungmin could see through. 

He thought that whatever was happening couldn’t have been as bad as what Jisung was making it out to be and he was about to walk straight back outside to ask the other what had gotten into him before the door to the room banged against the wall as it opened and Seungmin froze with his hand on the doorknob. 

His three friends remained in their seats, smiling at the woman who had entered with a slight scowl on her face. Her eyes darted around the room in search of something, realising quickly that whatever it was that she sought was not there. 

“Oh, Auntie! You’re home early! We didn’t-”

“Jisung, where is he?” 

Seungmin closed the door a little more, trying not to be seen. It’s not like he was spying or anything, even though it certainly looked that way. This was all Jisung’s fault really.

Probably in her late forties, the woman who had entered the room in a rather dramatic fashion held an undeniable aura of power about her. With pitch black hair in a pixie cut and rather extreme, striking makeup enhancing her beauty, Seungmin couldn’t deny that she reminded him of someone, though he couldn’t place who. Or maybe it was lingering recognition. Maybe he had met this person in his past because he certainly felt a nostalgic tinge in his mind at the woman’s appearance.

“I don’t even get a hello? I missed you a lot, you know. I sent you some messages asking how you were but you never replied to me,” Jisung pouted, jutting his lip out as far as humanly possible and somehow managing to make tears begin to stream down his face on cue. Seungmin made sure to make a mental note to always remember that Jisung was a force to be reckoned with. 

The moment the woman swung around to face Jisung, her whole manner shifted. Whoever she had been searching for was momentarily forgotten as she strode up to Jisung and took the sniffling young man in her arms and began to kiss his cheeks with heaps of love in ever peck. 

“Oh, my dear, I’m sorry. I have been really busy the last couple of days and haven’t checked my phone. How is my Sungie? Are they looking after you?” she cooed, nodding towards the other two young men in the room who had raised from their seated positions, perhaps out of respect for the woman who was obviously a senior Shadowhunter to them all, the runes poking up from her collar and the ends of her sleeves giving her away. 

“Only sometimes. Binnie yelled at me the other day,” Jisung sobbed, his downcast expression morphing into a truly maniacal grin when the woman holding him turned to glare at Changbin and tutted at him for scolding Jisung, apparently not even needing to know the reason. 

“You little shit.” 

“Changbin! Watch your language!”

“Sorry, Mom.”

And that was the proof that Seungmin needed to solidify his theory. This woman who began to release Jisung from her grasp to move over to Woojin was Changbin’s mother. From what he remembered, Jisung had said that she was like a mom to all of them, especially since Woojin had never known his mother and Jisung had lost his ten years ago. While he had been worried in the beginning because of her scowl, he now realised that there was an undeniable maternal feel about her as she embraced Woojin with such warmth. 

“My big, strong leader. I think you’re after getting taller since I last saw you, Woojinnie. These two aren’t giving you too much trouble, are they?” 

“You already know my answer to that, Auntie but I can’t do anything about it. I just wish that they’d give me a bit of a break. Both of them constantly break rules and I try to scold them, I really do but neither of them listen to me.” 

Seungmin tried to hold in a giggle when both Jisung and Changbin’s faces grew white at Woojin’s words, knowing they were in for quite an earful. In all honesty, Woojin wasn’t technically lying when he said they always caused trouble but they also knew that the leader of the Institute was playing up there antics a lot more than necessary to get Changbin’s mother’s sympathy. 

“What did I tell the both of you about listening to Woojin? He is in charge of this Institute and as such, he is in charge of you. You two better heed his orders from now on or so help me, I will make sure you both regret it.” 

Changbin threw his hands up in the air in exasperation after being scolded for the second time in the span of two minutes while Jisung promptly lowered his head and nodded timidly, probably figuring out that the warning was directed more towards him since he had a notable reputation for rule breaking and mischief. His head shot back up when he noticed Woojin sticking his tongue out at both of them behind Changbin’s mother’s back. 

“How have you reprimanded me twice already and not even said hello to me, Mom? I mean, I am technically your only son. You’re only  _ real  _ son,” Changbin emphasised when Jisung was about to jump in and say that they were just as much her children as he was.

“Don’t sulk, Changbin. It’s not a good look on you,” his mother berated him. 

For a moment, Seungmin thought that Changbin actually looked a little disheartened at how his mother was treating him but realised that this was the playful sort of relationship that they had when she smiled affectionately at him and gathered him up in her arms, struggling to kiss the top of his head since he had grown a few centimeters taller than her. 

“My little boy is moody since his mom wouldn’t give him a hug?” 

Both Woojin and Jisung held onto their stomachs and doubled over in silent laughter at the woman’s words, earning them a scowl filled with the promise of their death as Changbin raised his middle finger at them behind his mother’s back while still being embraced. 

“Changbin, stop cursing out your brothers.”

“Sorry, Mom,” Changbin apologised and it was obvious from the look on his face that he was speculating how she had seen the action. 

“Boys, stop laughing at Changbin.”

“Sorry, Auntie,” they replied in unison, also in awe that the woman could pick up on something that was happening out of her line of sight. 

“Ok, I’ve said hello to everyone. All of you have gotten your hugs. You have all been scolded at least once. Have I ticked everything off on the checklist?” she asked and received three nodding heads in return. “Perfect. Now, where is he?” 

She hadn’t specified who nor said his name but Seungmin had a rather strong feeling that he was the person she had been searching for. He figured that Jisung had been messing with him by telling him to stay hidden since he most likely just wanted his hugs first, so Seungmin decided to gingerly open the door and pop his head out to show himself.

That seemed to do the trick, the woman’s eyes instantly zeroing in on Seungmin as the door creaked when he pulled it back. All three of his friends turned with encouraging smiles on their faces, letting him know that it was now safe to come out and greet their guest. The way that Changbin’s mother approached him honestly made Seungmin feel like she saw him as a frightened animal, moving so slowly in case she scared him away. Stopping a few paces in front of him, the woman simply looked him up and down before settling her hand in front of her mouth. 

Now that he was face to face with her, Seungmin could definitely see the resemblance between Changbin and his mother. She was looking at him with an unreadable expression and Seungmin really couldn’t tell where he stood with her. That was, until a small chuckle slipped past her lips. 

“You know, I was going to insist that another test was carried out so that I could see the results myself and make sure that you were actually who they thought you were but it seems that there is no need. My goodness, you look just like your father when he was young,” she laughed, her lower lip trembling slightly as she tried to contain her emotions.

When he had entered his old room for the first time, Seungmin had seen and studied the picture of him standing with his parents. He would admit that the way he looked now resembled his father in the photograph slightly, though the man lacked his round spectacles and had about half a foot on him in height. Every night before he went to bed, Seungmin took the frame in his hands to inspect every detail that he could about his parents, trying to see if he could learn anything new or remember something else about them but nothing had emerged from his memories. However, hearing from someone who knew his father so well that he looked just like him made Seungmin feel a little closer to the man he once loved so much. 

“Really? I do?” 

“Oh, most definitely. Everything about you, even the way you stand, is the exact same as him.”

Hearing the others snicker at him as he straightened himself up, wondering how it was he actually carried himself, Seungmin was about to ask what else reminded her of his father but before he could open his mouth, Changbin’s mother had begun speaking again. 

“How rude of me, I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Seo Areum and I am Changbin’s mom. Well, I think I’ve taken that role for everyone in this room really.”

Areum stepped forward, seemingly going in for a hug but stopped herself when she realised that was probably a step too far too quickly. While she had watched Seungmin grow up and taken care of him like her own son, the young man was now a different person, someone who didn’t remember her and would probably not be all that comfortable with a strange woman hugging him so suddenly. Instead, she settled for a handshake, which Seungmin gladly returned. They could hopefully work their way up to that hug. 

“It’s really nice to finally meet you. Sungie told me a little bit about you already. He was really excited that you would be coming back to see all of them when we spoke.” 

Catching movement from the corner of his eye, Seungmin watched Jisung make a very satisfied face, gesturing with two thumbs up, knowing that what Seungmin had said would put him in Areum’s good books for a while. 

“He was? There’s a reason he’s my favourite child.”

“Hey!” Changbin and Woojin whined in unison, pursing their lips together to let Areum know that they were not at all happy with her declaration. Jisung, on the other hand, seemed to be practically bursting with joy. 

It was a strange sight, all of his friends acting so childishly and a tad spoiled from the moment Areum had entered the room but Seungmin understood that this was the only interaction that they had with Changbin’s mother in many weeks. Maybe this was the only time in which they genuinely could let go of all the responsibilities and worries that they had, a moment where nothing was expected of them from their duty, a moment where they could actually behave how they wished instead of how they should and they were taking full advantage of it.

Areum made her way back to the three young men, pulling all of them into one big bear hug and squeezing them with all of her might, allowing pained groans and a wild giggles to mix together.

“Of course I love all my boys equally. I couldn’t possibly choose,” Areum declared, looping her arm around Changbin’s waist when he tried to escape. “Where do you think you’re going? I’m not done with you yet! You were complaining about not getting enough attention earlier! Now, where are the rest of my hugs?”

_ “Where are my hugs, Cherry? I’ve come back from such a tiring mission and I need my cuddles right away!” _

_ “Ok, Auntie!” _

The voices in the room quickly died down as Seungmin groaned, the slight noise breaking their constant jabbering. Woojin rushed towards the redhead when he noticed the wobbly legs he was standing upon, a hand cradling his head with his eyes squeezed shut.

“Seungmin? Are you hurting again? Did you remember something?” Woojin questioned as he supported Seungmin’s shoulders.

“Cherry…”

“What was that, dear?” Areum whispered, trying to keep her voice low in case the volume would make him hurt even more. Coming closer to the youngest Shadowhunter, Areum held onto his hand with true concern for his well being.

“Cherry. When I was younger...you used to call me Cherry because of my hair.”

Seungmin truly did wonder why it was that only random little facts like this were coming back to him. It was like he was pushing against a force that did not want to move when he attempted to recollect his past. However, tiny spaces were being created, allowing something to trickle through but things that didn’t mean all that much in the grand scheme of things. He only wished he could remember something substantial, something that could possibly remind him of what had happened all those years ago and how it was he had lost his memories.

While Seungmin didn’t think much of remembering the nickname that Areum had bestowed upon him as a child, it seemed that the word managed to shake the woman’s heart as she let go a rather stunning laugh.

“That’s right, I used call you Cherry. I had actually forgotten about that myself. Did you just remember that?”

Seungmin simply nodded, trying to focus on the memory that had just flashed through his mind to see if he could pick up on anything else. Alas, the vision did not continue and ended with a younger version of himself wrapping his arms around Areum’s neck.    
  


“Bits and pieces have been coming back to him. It’s like random scenes from a movie replaying in his mind every so often when something sets it off,” Jisung supplied, coming to pet Seungmin’s hair, trying to soothe the redhead through the dizziness that always came along with him recollecting anything. 

“Seungmin, does it always hurt when you remember something?”

He was never exactly suffering when something came back to him but it was uncomfortable. The pressure in his head pulsated with a rather irritating rhythm and took his eyes out of focus but rather than trying to explain all of this to Areum, he just nodded his head to let her know that he was bordering on being in pain. 

“That’s strange. It almost sounds like there’s a block on your memories, like you’re mind is trying to force the events back through but that wouldn’t make much sense. You don’t know anything about that, Seungmin, do you?” 

A block on his memories? If there was something obscuring his thoughts, surely he wouldn’t remember it anyway but he definitely didn’t know anything about it. 

“That’s ok. Remembering small things is better than nothing. Besides, you always did things at your own pace when you were younger.” 

While Seungmin really did love the attention that his friends had given him since he had returned to the Institute, it really didn’t compare to the attentiveness and tender, loving care that someone who was a mother was giving him. It was something that he could never remember, something he always wished to have but as Areum stroked his cheek softly, he couldn’t help but lean into the touch. 

“Bin, we better get going. Our shift starts in ten minutes,” prompted Jisung, moving to pick up the blades he had left on Woojin’s desk. “Sorry to love and leave you, Auntie but we have a patrol to go on.” 

As they were gathering up their belongings, strapping their weapons to their thighs and securing their jackets, Areum stopped both Changbin and Jisung, placing a protective kiss upon both of their foreheads. It was a fleeting thought but Seungmin kind of wished for one to be planted upon his forehead as well, not that he was going to ask a woman he had just been reintroduced to for one. 

“Look after each other, alright? I’ll be waiting for the both of you when you get back.”   


Replying with a smile from Jisung and a small nod from Changbin, both young men bid the others goodbye as they headed out for the main street of the city. 

“I have a few things to take care of too, Auntie but I can meet up with you in a few hours.” 

“Alright, Woojin. Changbin told me you had a call from your father on the night you found Seungmin. I want to hear all about that later, alright?” 

Usually, it was Woojin giving the orders to everyone in the Institute but Seungmin had the strangest feeling that Areum was not a woman that you said no to when she asked something of you, made very apparent when Woojin hung his head a little lower that he normally would before nodding slightly. 

“Seungmin, you’re free to do whatever you want until Changbin comes back. Take a look around the Institute or if you want, just chill here in my office for a while. I’ll see you in a little bit, ok?” Woojin gushed as he ruffled the younger’s hair. He made his way to the door but not before he was pulled back and a kiss was also placed upon his forehead before he left the room. 

While Seungmin thought that many people may feel a tad awkward being left alone with someone that they had met less than ten minutes ago but there was none of that when he saw Areum staring fondly at the door that all three of her sons had left through before turning back to him with a smile full of pride. 

“They’re wonderful boys, aren’t they?”

“They really are,” Seungmin agreed, not even trying to hide the fondness he had for the three young men who had saved his life, in more ways than one. 

“You can absolutely say no if you don’t want to but would you consider sitting down with me for a little while to chat? I promise that I won’t ask any invasive questions or anything. I just...I would really like to get to know you again but if you don’t-”

“I would really like to get to know you again too…I’m sorry, how would you like me to address you?” 

“Oh, please, call me Auntie. You always did when you were little.” 

Hesitating just a little, Seungmin knew that he had experienced all of this before when Jisung had told him how he had always referred to him as Sungie when they were little. While he had been unsure about that in the beginning, he now knew where he stood, that these people really were his family from a past that he had lost and if he was going to have any chance of finding it, he should immerse himself in every way possible. 

“Ok, Auntie.” 


	16. Adumbration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. What did you all think of the comeback? Here's another chapter for you. Hope you enjoy!

A small knock on his bedroom door roused Jeongin from his sleep. Last thing he remembered, Chan had come back into his room in the middle of the night to place a cooling patch on his head, the alpha Werewolf telling him that his body was overcompensating trying to help him recover from his shift earlier on in the day and that he now had a slight fever. Now, the light was flooding through the thin curtains, letting Jeongin know that he had managed to sleep through the rest of the night. 

Even so, when a second knock came upon the door, Jeongin didn’t have the energy to get up and answer it, simply calling whoever was on the other side to come in. He figured it was just Chan coming to check on his condition again but the elder was not the one to walk over his threshold. Instead, the Werewolf that had abandoned him in the middle of the city yesterday and left him to fend for himself popped his head around the door and frowned with uncertainty at the young man still snuggled up in bed. 

Inadvertently, Jeongin curled in on himself even further at the sight of the other man, pulling his teddy bear close to his chest for comfort and maybe to hide it from Wonsik too. He really didn’t want to give the other another reason to berate and tease him for being childish. 

“Hey,” Wonsik called softly, a stark contrast to how he had spoken to Jeongin the previous day. “Is it alright if I come in?” 

Jeongin weighed up his options, thinking about all of the possible outcomes of leaving Wonsik into his room but in the end, he figured that this whole mess would never be sorted out if he wasn’t open to discussion. Plus, Jeongin got the feeling that the wolf standing in front of him wasn’t the same one as he had been on patrol with yesterday.

Pushing himself up into a sitting position, keeping his teddy firmly on his lap beneath the covers, Jeongin motioned for Wonsik to enter his bedroom, bringing along an exceedingly awkward atmosphere with him. From the look in his eyes, Wonsik seemed to be contemplating how to go about this but Jeongin got the feeling that he was not going to scold or raise his voice against him. That didn’t stop the slight tremor of his hands as he waited for the elder to begin speaking. 

“Are you alright?” 

Jeongin nodded hastily, forgetting about the cooling patch on his forehead which fell off because of the momentum. It wasn’t a lie, Jeongin really did feel a lot better than the previous day and moved the patch onto the bedside table to show Wonsik that. 

The elder wolf continued to stand in the middle of the room unmoving, his fists clenching before going lax repeatedly, eyes firmly set on the floor. In a way, Jeongin almost felt sorry for him for some reason and cleared his throat to get the other’s attention. 

“You can pull the chair over here if you want to sit.” 

Looking a little startled at the invitation, Wonsik didn’t reply but simply moved over to Jeongin’s desk and took the chair out from under it, settling it beside the younger’s bed and sitting down. He didn’t want to say anything because it seemed as if Wonsik was deep in thought about what to say next but Jeongin was becoming more and more uneasy as the silence dragged out in the small space. Before Jeongin suffocated under the pressure, the older wolf decided to speak up. 

“I figured I should come here and talk about what happened yesterday,” Wonsik stated, pausing a little and making Jeongin begin to break out in a cold sweat, despite still harbouring a fever. “What happened between the two of us yesterday was-” 

“I’m sorry.”    


  
Maybe it was the fever, maybe it was something else but Jeongin couldn’t help the words that slipped past his lips to interrupt whatever Wonsik was about to say. 

“Did...did you just apologise to me?” the elder scoffed, hearing Jeongin hum a little while lowering his head even further. “What are you apologising for?” 

“For my endless prattle, for snapping at you, for just being a nuisance overall.” 

The slight distress signal that both young men had been emitting since Wonsik entered the room increased in intensity for a moment before Wonsik’s disappeared completely as he laughed with obvious disbelief. 

“Kid, listen to me, the only reason you snapped at me was because I was being a dick,” proclaimed Wonsik, making Jeongin raise his head to look the elder straight in the eyes before he continued. “You stood up for yourself and there’s nothing wrong with that and you  _ definitely  _ shouldn’t be apologising for it. Especially not to me.” 

Hearing such encouraging words from Wonsik, Jeongin lessened the constrictive grip around his teddy bear’s arms, feeling the tension lessen around his own shoulders too.

“I was pissed about something that had nothing to do with you. My anger got the better of me, as it usually does,” Wonsik snorted with, what Jeongin thought was, a joking tone. “And I took it out on you, which wasn’t fair in the slightest.” 

“Why were you angry?” 

Jeongin was always inquisitive about everything, for as long as he could remember but he scolded himself, thinking that now was  _ not  _ the time to be butting in and making Wonsik become annoyed with him again. 

“Never mind. We hardly know each other. You don’t have to talk to me about that.” 

“I think the reason that we don’t know each other is because I wouldn’t tell you anything. Come on, kid, have a little more confidence when you speak. It’s stuff like this that makes you seem weak.” 

It was obvious that it wasn’t Wonsik’s intention but the comment about Jeongin’s lack of strength made the younger deflate, eyes no longer meeting Wonsik’s as he began to play with the ribbon around his teddy bear’s neck in embarrassment. He knew that he wasn’t perceived as strong, mentally  _ or  _ physically and maybe he never would be but someone calling out so casually like that made Jeongin feel worse than he already did about the lack of power within himself. Compared to the other wolves in the pack, Jeongin was uncertain and feeble, not living up to his full potential because he still couldn’t really believe that all of this had happened to him.    


  
“Sorry, that was rude. You have permission to call me out if I’m being an asshole. Though, you might be calling me out a lot.”    


That was what allowed the first smile to crack Jeongin’s anxious exterior as he laughed a little at Wonsik reprimanding himself. It seemed to be infectious as the elder wolf also snickered before it ended with both of them smiling at each other. This was probably the longest conversation that Jeongin had participated in with anyone other than Chan in the pack and even though they most certainly didn’t get off to the best start, Jeongin was beginning to feel more and more at ease in Wonsik’s presence now that he was calm and releasing soothing pheromones to show that.

“The reason that I was pissed off had to do with my family.” 

Jeongin could only assume that he wasn’t speaking of the pack at the moment because, even if Wonsik had never particularly gotten along with Jeongin, he would never exclude the younger from the pack, calling it his own family without including everyone that Chan had chosen to live with them. 

“Maybe you know this, maybe you don’t but I don’t actually live here most of the time.”

Jeongin was aware of that. While he had chosen to stay in the house with Chan, at least for the time being, many of the people in the pack had decided not to. They lived rather regular lives since they could control their wolves. They had their own homes, jobs and sometimes, even families. Of course, they still spent the majority of their free time with their pack since being without them for too long would cause them unnecessary stress and anxiety. The Mundane world knew nothing of their other life and Jeongin did wonder from time to time if he would ever reach that point. At the moment, he was more than content to stay in this house with Chan and some other wolves but he knew that not everyone took well to being cooped up in a forest away from others. 

“Some of us are still close with our human families, even if they don’t know that we’ve been turned. It’s hard to keep the secret sometimes but most of the time, we manage.”

The lingering ‘but’ that Wonsik wasn’t supplying made Jeongin feel like he knew where the elder’s story was going but he stayed silent and allowed Wonsik to continue.

“I was turned at twenty one after being attacked, just like you but I didn’t have anyone to help me through it in the beginning like Chan did for you. I had to learn the hard way that something was after changing within me. A member of the Praetor Lupus only found me after about two weeks.” 

In all of his studying that Chan had practically forced him through, Jeongin remembered learning about the Praetor Lupus who they were and how they found and took care of orphaned Downworlders or those who didn’t know what happened to them. 

“In that time, I became very irritable and I was angry at everything. I spoke so harshly towards those I cared about. I would wake up in the middle of nowhere wondering how I got there, not knowing that I had changed against my will. My parents, my friends, they had no idea what had happened and they didn’t like the person that I had become. Neither did I.”

The air became laden with bleakness and the wolf inside of Jeongin was beginning to whimper, telling him that he should be comforting the distressed member of his pack but he wasn’t entirely sure how to do that when he was uncertain about the parameters of their relationship at the moment. 

“When I learned what I was, the Praetor Lupus brought me here and Chan welcomed me with open arms. He was only nineteen at the time but the guy had so much drive to help others and let them know that they would be safe with him that I instantly felt more at ease.”   


  
While Chan had been the one to bring him back to their home himself, Jeongin could tell that Wonsik’s own experience with Chan welcoming him to the family coincided with his own. Chan honestly couldn’t have been more hospitable and courteous when Jeongin had joined the pack, something he never truly thanked the alpha Werewolf for. 

“Though it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I had to quit college at that time so I could learn some control and about this new life. I wasn’t ready to be in the real world when I was at risk of losing control and hurting others or myself. My parents weren’t happy about it, chastising me and saying I was throwing my life away. I couldn’t even give them a reason. I just told them that I was going to travel for a while and that I would come back eventually. While their opinion on my choices didn’t bother me so much, having to leave my brother behind did.”

The breath in Jeongin’s chest suddenly halted, being more than obvious to Wonsik who cringed slightly, moving on to his next point without missing a beat. 

“He’s ten years younger than I am but we were practically inseparable when we were younger. To be honest, you remind me of him a lot. His eighteenth birthday is next week and a couple of days ago, I got a call from my parents to say that they thought it would be better if I didn’t come to see him anymore.”

It made Jeongin’s heart contract, hearing that Wonsik was being ostracised by his parents because of something he had no control over. He was lucky enough to still have a family but they apparently wanted nothing more to do with him, not knowing why it was that he had acted in such a way in his youth.   
  


“They think that I’m still that rash and aggressive person I was back then and don’t want my brother anywhere near me in case I do something to hurt or influence him. I was going to say that I’ve changed but after the way I treated you, I’m not so sure. I just miss him a lot and I was looking forward to seeing him but now...well, you know how it affected me, I guess.” 

With a smile filled with sadness, Jeongin leaned forwards and patted the elder’s knee, letting him know that he understood why things had turned out the way that they had yesterday.

“And that long and convoluted story was basically leading up to me apologising to you. I’m not trying to make an excuse for what happened but you deserve an explanation. I’m sorry about what I did, Jeongin. Chan trusted me to take care of you.  _ You  _ trusted me to take care of you and I broke both of your trusts because of letting some personal problems get the best of me. I hope that one day you can forgive me but I will do my best to make it up to you, I promise.”

Jeongin could honestly feel the sincerity in Wonsik’s apology, knowing that the wolf wasn’t just spilling empty words to try and end this little spat quickly.

“Thank you for apologising, Wonsik. I understand how all of that would affect you and it’s not strange that you would be upset by that. Don’t worry, I forgive you.” 

He had received an explanation and an apology from Wonsik and Jeongin knew from all of this that the elder wouldn’t treat him this way again due to the aftermath. He thought it only fair to forgive the elder wolf for his wrongdoings towards him. After all, he knew that nobody was perfect. Everyone makes mistakes.   


  
“Wow, Chan was right. You really are a saint.”

“Did he actually say that? How embarrassing…” Jeongin whined, hearing Wonsik snort at his crimson cheeks. “He probably scolded you and asked you to say all of this to me too, right?”

“Actually, no. He, um, he’s completely ignored me since you guys came back yesterday,” gulped Wonsik, obviously distressed that his alpha seemingly wanted nothing to do with him after how he had treated Jeongin. “I think he’s not going to speak to me until he’s sure he won’t rip my face off.” 

Most people that met Chan would think that Wonsik was being far too over dramatic when he thought the alpha could be anything other than kind and caring but those within his pack knew better. Chan was indeed a wonderful person who always put others before himself but those under his care knew all too well that Chan had a rather terrifying side to him too. Unlike many in his pack, Chan had been born with lycanthropy, both his mother and father being Werewolves too. He had been in control of his wolf from a very early age but his aggressive side when anybody harmed someone close to him made it seem like all mastery of his feelings went out the window. Chan would protect those close to him without fail, even if it was against other members of his pack. That was why Jeongin knew that Wonsik’s feelings on the subject of what Chan could do to him were very real. 

“He’ll come around. I’ll talk to him if you want.”

“No, no. I deserve the silent treatment for a while. Thanks though. You really are a sweet kid, which just makes me feel all the worse for treating you so harshly.” 

“What’s going on?” 

The alpha’s tone filled the room, almost tinged with annoyance since he had specifically told everyone in the house not to disturb Jeongin. However, since Chan had been effectively ignoring Wonsik for the last twenty four hours, he had not gotten the memo. 

When Jeongin saw the way Chan’s eyes bore into Wonsik with hostility, he felt the need to explain that he was not in any danger or dismayed in any way by having the elder in the room with him.

“Wonsik was just apologising to me because of yesterday. We’ve talked it out and I’ve forgiven him. We’re all good.” 

“He did, huh?” Chan hummed, eyeing Wonsik carefully, even though the elder kept his stare on his feet. “Wonsik, can you go to my office and wait for me? I still want to speak with you.”    
  


Albeit falteringly, Wonsik rose to his feet with an obedient nod, shoulders hunched in worry at how this conversation was going to go. He did seem a little pleased that Chan was now speaking with him again, probably thanks to Jeongin’s assurances. 

“Bye, Wonsik. Thanks for coming to talk with me.”

“Sure, Jeongin. Thanks for listening.”

The tension in the room lifted slightly as Wonsik exited, with nothing being said between the two elder Werewolves. Chan immediately shifted his disposition, smiling lightly and taking his place beside Jeongin on his bed but not before he reached beneath the covers and pulled out the teddy bear that Jeongin had been hiding to place it on the younger’s lap. 

“You feeling ok, Innie?”

“Much better. Still a little sleepy though.”

“That’s ok. Stay in bed for the day. Listen, I have to go into town for a little while but I’ve asked the others to check in on you every so often. I’ll be back before dinner, ok?” 

Chan was usually very specific with details when it came to Jeongin, especially regarding his whereabouts since he knew that the younger could get a little bit antsy if he didn’t know where his alpha was or how long he would be gone. The fact that he didn’t specify where he was going made Jeongin think that Chan didn’t want him to know but he didn’t pick at the detail, just trusting Chan and allowing him to go about his business. 

“Ok. And Chan?”

“Yeah, Innie?” 

“Don’t be too hard on Wonsik. He seemed really torn up about what happened yesterday. Even more so because you were ignoring him. He explained and I understand what happened. Take it easy on him.” 

“There you go again. Being too angelic for your own good.”

* * *

“Come on, old man. Why did you need five copies of the same book?” 

Minho sighed in frustration, placing the last copy of  _ ‘The Spiral Labyrinth: A governing body for Warlocks’  _ onto the already cluttered desk. He had been here for the last three hours, falling deeper and deeper into madness that was his old mentor’s house and attempting to make some sense of the mayhem he had left behind. 

The reality was that Minho never imagined that he would have to do this so soon. It was on a Sunday afternoon, almost forty years ago that Jihoon had been giving a lecture for a rather prestigious gathering of Warlocks. Overall, it had been a rather smashing success, with many young Warlocks being fascinated by Jihoon’s views on the subject of equality and tolerance for all species of Downworlders. Minho had been by his side the entire time, helping him with his presentation and studying how his mentor handled difficult questions and those who were on the opposing side when it came to his perspective. However, in the midst of a conversation with another scholar, the elder Warlock had been hit by a wave of nausea and exhaustion, having to excuse himself from the meeting and having Minho give his ending ment. 

Every single Warlock had a physical mark to identify and distinguish them from other Downworlders that took a human form, much like Shadowhunters did with their runes. Of course, they hid them from sight with a glamour, most choosing to do so continuously, even when they were not around Mundanes. Some had reptilian eyes, some had claws similar to a wild animal, some had tails that swished back and forth like an excited canine. As for Minho, he was lucky enough to sport something rather beautiful in his opinion: two cat ears, sapphire in colour, matching his hair, that sprouted from the top of his head. He had always liked them, seeing as he was rather fond of every single feline in the world but he also knew that they would eventually disappear. For you see, once every Warlock entered the final stages of their life, their distinct mark vanished from sight. That was why, when Minho opened the door to the en suite bathroom of their room and saw Jihoon staring at himself in the mirror, tracing where his tiger stripes used to be, he knew that the elder was finally entering the last stages of his time on earth, that what he feared was finally coming to fruition. 

But it should have lasted so much longer. As for every Warlock, he should have had around fifty years of life left in him but for some reason, in the last few years, he had deteriorated at a shocking pace, like something was eating away at his powers, his life force, not that it seemed to shock Jihoon all that much. But Minho certainly hadn’t expected it, to visit his home last week, only to find that his mentor had passed peacefully in his sleep. Though, from the note that had been left in his bedside locker for Minho, it was obvious that Jihoon had a feeling that his time to move on was rapidly approaching. He probably didn’t know that this particular night would be his last, that he would not be waking to see his beloved apprentice, his son, again.

It had come as such a shock to his system that Minho didn’t even remember how he had gotten to the Institute that night, how he had ended up outside the front door, being soaked by the torrential rain. It was Jisung who had found him. How he had, Minho was unsure because, even in his disoriented state, he knew he hadn’t knocked. The younger man had been so careful with him, leading him to his room and stripping him of his soaked clothes. Jisung had run him a bath, given him a comfortable set of pyjamas, settled him in his bed before going to fetch Woojin and Changbin, unable to tell them what had happened since Minho had not spoken a word since he had entered the Institute. 

It had been just over a week but Minho had slowly begun to accept and acknowledge that the only father figure he ever had was no longer around. Unfortunately, it was all a part of life, something that he should have been more than used to since he would outlive many of his friends and family. He was just glad that he had friends like Jisung, Changbin and Woojin since they had stayed with him for two days while he came to terms with it. Even if he had at this stage, he was still unable to open the note that Jihoon had left behind for him, not ready to hear or rather, read, the final words his family had written for him.

Now, while cleaning out Jihoon’s home, he couldn’t help but smile at all of the nostalgia that was bombarding him as he went through his teacher’s old files, his notes, his writings and theories. It had taken a rather long time but Minho had finally gotten to the surface of the old man’s desk, clearing all the clutter in at least one part of his study. 

As he moved over to the bookshelf on the opposite side of the room to start boxing up some more of Jihoon’s belongings, he couldn’t help the involuntary smirk that crept up on him when he saw two photo frames sitting in front of the books. In the first stood the elder Warlock and a thirteen year old Minho, the picture taken on the day that Minho had managed to conjure his first portal. Granted it had only been to the other side of the house but it was a rather terrific feat in both of the Warlocks’ eyes since it required a tremendous amount of control. Minho’s smile was filled with jubilation, while Jihoon’s held nothing but pride. Knowing he could never throw something so precious like that out, Minho swept his fingers across the glass before flicking his wrist and sending the frame straight into his bag with a simple spell. 

The second photo, on the other hand, was something that Minho didn’t even know that Jihoon possessed. In it, Minho looked to be laughing rather loudly while lying on the floor of his apartment but why wouldn’t he be when Changbin and Woojin were holding him down while Jisung’s fingers dug mercilessly into his sides, tickling him like it was his only mission in life? It was just the effect that his friends had on him, making him so incredibly content and cheerful that Jihoon must have wanted to preserve one moment of Minho’s happiness to keep with him, to know that his adoptive son had found people that would look after him, wanting to keep that elated smile on his face for as long as they could. Minho decided to keep this as well, reasoning that when times were tough, he could look at this picture of raw happiness, knowing that his mentor would always want him to be this way and that he had friends that he could always turn to. 

“Ah, dammit, old man. You’re making me soft even after you’re gone, huh?”   


  
Minho snapped his fingers together while still holding onto the picture of him and his friends, making the three boxes he had filled of Jihoon’s things that were to be donated float up into the air and follow him into the kitchen. While he was there, he began to clean out the cupboards of all the food and throw it in the trash, knowing that nobody would need some mouldy bread or beans that were sixty years past their expiration date. His hand stopped suddenly when he noticed the cans of dog food that were still sitting on the top shelf. It was something that had escaped his notice but Minho immediately remembered that Jihoon’s Spirit Guide was nowhere in sight. 

The shapeshifting animal who liked to spend the majority of their time as a rather beautiful golden retriever was nowhere to be seen now that Minho thought about it. Most Warlocks didn’t have one but it wasn’t uncommon for them to have a pet in the form of a Spirit Guide either, someone who constantly kept them company and led them in the right direction in life. 

Jihoon’s Spirit Guide, who was called Jumun by the Warlock, had a rather strange beginning with the old man. As a fourteen year old Jihoon was leaving his home one day, he noticed Jumun sitting on his front porch in the form of a bengal tiger, perhaps to try and mirror the Warlock’s physical marks and establish a bond. It was almost as if the animal was waiting for him, even though the Warlock had never seen the beast before. Jihoon always made the joke that Jumun had been sent to him to save him from the loneliness of his youth and, in a way, it wasn’t that much of a joke. Minho had spent many a night with his arms wrapped around Jihoon’s furry companion, knowing that nothing would harm him with the pretty dog cuddled in beside him. 

Now, the shapeshifter was nowhere to be seen and Minho considered that Jumun had already moved on to find the next person to serve since Spirit Guides were immortal. He was just a tad disappointed that Jumun had not chosen him to serve but Spirit Guides were always fickle, only their owners sharing that special bond with them. Minho knew that Jumun was smart and would find a new home where some real good could be done. There was probably another soul that needed to be helped more than him. 

Feeling more and more fatigued as the evening went on, Minho figured he would call it a day. He knew it would take a while longer to fully clean out Jihoon’s home and that there was no point in rushing. Plus, seeing all of the mementos that reminded him of the wonderful life that Jihoon had led that he had been allowed to be a part of made Minho realise that maybe he didn’t want to finish this job particularly quickly. 

With his hands circling each other, tendrils of blue energy waves swirled around Minho’s fingers, the force beginning to open a portal back to his apartment. He didn’t know when it would be but he had invited Jisung to spend the evening with him and decided it would be best to have everything cleared away before the younger arrived. Jisung would no doubt like to see the photos that he had brought back with him, knowing the young man was terribly sentimental. A small smile crept up on Minho as he thought about what the evening might have in store for him. 


	17. Reminiscence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't think I would upload again this quickly but the writer's block is slowly starting to come undone. So, here I am with an update for you guys. Hopefully I will be back on track for now. Enjoy!

Sipping on the rose hip tea, Felix sank back into his chair and sighed contentedly when he felt the warmth flowing throughout his body. People always say home is where the heart is and the young Faerie could say with certainty that his heart really was all the more at ease when he watched his mother busy herself in the kitchen as she listened to her son’s tales of his adventures in the human realm. 

A small wooden cottage in the middle of one of the many quaint towns on the outskirts of the forest, Felix felt rather nostalgic as he sat in his childhood home, the place where he had grown up before being taken to live in the Queen’s court so many years ago. Luscious green vines ran up and down the walls, forget-me-nots and bluebells adding pops of colour to the otherwise plain surroundings. The oak and mahogany furniture situated around the space had all been handcrafted by his mother before Felix had been born, right down to the very chair he was currently seated in. The scent of petrichor wafted through the open windows, a sure sign that it had recently been raining but Felix could say that it was indeed one of his favourites scents in the world. 

Felix watched his mother’s back as she scurried around the kitchen, completing three tasks at once without a hint of a problem. Granted, she had become a little agitated when Felix first explained that he had been sent to the human realm by the Seelie Queen when she knew of his unfortunate encounter the last time he had been there. In reality, it looked like his mother was ready to walk right into the Seelie Queen’s court and rip off her head but when Felix assured her that nothing had gone amiss, she seemed to relax a little, verdant green eyes full of raw emotions for her son’s wellbeing falling back to a warm brown. 

“Sweetpea, you really do need to become more familiar with the humans and their ways. I don’t want you getting hurt again,” his mother sighed with a hint of sadness, glancing over her shoulder at the young man bestowing her with a smile to soothe her worries. 

The fiery red curls that framed the woman’s face bounced every time she took a step around the room, waving her hands skillfully, magic pouring from her fingertips to direct the watering can to where it needed to go and sprinkle the plants before she moved back to the sink to wash some dishes. 

Felix always admired his mother, a woman that had been pretty much left to fend for herself by those she had considered family but someone who also persevered with her inner strength alone. She had always done her best to provide Felix with whatever he needed, whatever he wanted and Felix could say without a shadow of a doubt that he had grown up without a care in the world because of what his mother did for him. He would repay her someday, in some way but for now, being someone she could be proud to call her son was what he was striving to do.

“I promise I’ll try harder, Mother. You don’t have to worry though. Changbin said that he would teach me the next time I went there.”

Felix flinched a little when a small crash echoed throughout the room after his mother failed to hold onto a glass vase she had been cleaning. Quickly rising to his feet to assist the woman, Felix couldn’t understand why his mother looked at him with utter incredulity before waving at him to sit back down, muttering something under her breath about the mess at her feet, twisted vines sprouting from the floorboards to clean up the destruction. 

“What was his name, dear?” 

“Changbin. He’s the Shadowhunter who yelled at me for being rude. Why, Mother? Are you alright?”

Not missing the small smile his mother tried to hide as she turned to deposit the broken glass into the trash, Felix became even more curious as to why his statement had invoked such a reaction. 

“I’m fine, sweetpea and no particular reason. It’s just an unusual name is all. Felix, I want you to do something for me,” the woman encouraged softly as she walked over to Felix, his body still being heated by the rapidly cooling tea. Cupping his cheek with one of her delicate hands and using the other one to push his growing lavender hair out of his eyes, Felix’s mother placed a gentle kiss upon his forehead before speaking. “You must look after that young man.” 

Not being entirely sure if he had heard correctly, Felix tilted his head to convey his feelings of uncertainty. Of course his mother knew of his general feelings towards humans, her own opinion of them changing slightly after what they had done to her son all those years ago but now, she was asking him to care for one of them, someone Felix had only come to meet twice. 

“Look after him? Why, Mother?” 

Felix’s apprehension increased tenfold when his mother laughed melodiously before kissing his forehead once again, moving over to the stove and filling up her own cup with mixed berry tea and taking a seat across from him. 

“Never you mind about that. You'll come to understand why I’m asking this of you soon. Now, who knows when I’ll see you again. Tell me more about your adventures.”

* * *

“Here you go, Seungmin.” 

“Thank you, Auntie.” 

In true motherly fashion, Areum placed a bowl of fresh fruit salad in front of Seungmin with a glass of water. Jisung had mentioned at some point that sometimes, Areum really took the role to heart and even though they were all in their twenties, she would always make sure that they ate well, slept enough and didn’t overwork themselves when she was back at the Institute. 

“Gosh, there are so many questions I want to ask you but I know that you won’t be able to answer a lot of them for me,” Areum laughed, staring at Seungmin affectionately. The woman didn’t need to say anything to convey what she was really feeling, her eyes basically screaming one phrase at him:  _ ‘I’ve missed you terribly.’  _

“I’ll do my best to answer anything you want to know,” Seungmin replied as he bowed a little in his seat. 

He was aware that he had once known this woman, the flash of memory that had come to him had let him know that for certain but at the moment, he still felt a little uneasy in her presence. It was ludicrous to feel this way when Areum had already treated him with such kindness but he had encountered plenty of people throughout his life who seemed compassionate at first, only to turn their backs on him at some point. More than anything, he wanted to become close with Areum, probably the only possibility of a mother figure he would ever have now. 

Even though she held an undeniable maternal and nurturing feel, it was obvious that she was someone to be respected, someone of high stature, made obvious by the way everyone around them was staring at them. However, it wasn’t the same as the first time he had sat in the dining hall with Jisung and Changbin, when everyone was frowning towards him, hushed whispers surrounding him from all sides, everyone trying to figure out if the rumours were true. No, this time, they all seemed rather excited that someone so auspicious was now back in their Institute. 

“She’s finally back,” one youngster gasped loudly.

“Wow, she looks so scary. Good thing we know that’s not true,” another girl giggled.

“Wait, who is that?”

“You mean you don’t know the legend that is Seo Areum?”

“She has the highest demon kill count in the history of the Seoul Institute.”

“I’ve heard she’s literally a master of every weapon known to man.” 

“There’s a rumour that there isn’t a book in the Shadow world that she hasn’t read.”

“Someone said that within a week of beginning her training, she beat her instructor in combat.”

“She was one of the youngest Shadowhunters to be offered a place in the Clave but turned it down to take care of her son.”

“Every Institute around the world wants her to be a part of their group because of her skills.” 

“Overall, just a kick ass Shadowhunter. She’s so incredible.” 

Great. That didn’t make Seungmin feel even more intimidated by the woman currently smiling sweetly in front of him, acting oblivious to the not so subtle whispers around her, though Seungmin knew she heard every single word.

“Listen to them,” Areum sighed, “muttering about some rumours they heard about me.”

“But,” Seungmin hummed, “are any of them true?”

That made Areum perk up a bit, lifting her chin from her clasped hands and trying not to let the proud smirk overtake her loving smile. 

“Maybe,” she snickered before picking up a strawberry and popping it in her mouth, a spark of playfulness coming through in her tone, “but I’m not going to tell you which ones.”

Allowing himself a small giggle as he sipped on his water, Seungmin began to feel like he was speaking to a friend more than anything else. He could really tell why it was that Jisung was so excited about her finally coming back to see them and he really hoped he could become more relaxed around Areum as time went on. 

“I don’t want to bombard you with questions about your life since I’ve last seen you. I’m sure you’re sick to death of people asking you. How about we work our way backwards? Let me start by asking you some questions about you now.” 

Seungmin quickly nodded in agreement, feeling a little twinge of happiness in his heart when Areum sidestepped the subject of his past in favour of getting to know who he was now. 

“How have you been finding living at the Institute? Are those three taking care of you?” Areum questioned, a look in her eyes telling Seungmin that he shouldn’t try to protect the three young men he had become friends with if they weren’t treating him well.

“They really couldn’t have done more for me if they tried. Honestly, I haven’t been this happy in a really long time. I pretty much owe them my life. I finally have a family again.”

That really was how Seungmin felt about all of them now. The way that they had treated him, tried to make him feel at home, more at ease, like he was one of them, it made all the difference. While his mind was still repressing the memories of his childhood, Seungmin figured that perhaps his heart remembered who his family really was.

“That’s good. I’m glad to see I’ve raised them well. So, have you been introduced to anyone else?”

“A lot of the other Shadowhunters here have been really kind to me. I think some are still a little bit awkward around me but that’s understandable.”

No matter what he did around the Institute, be it eating, training or spending time with the others, there were still a few people that would throw him hesitant glances, ones that said they were still unsure as to how they should treat him. He didn’t mind too much because he could understand where they were coming from. Plus, there were plenty of other Shadowhunters like Mina, Yugyeom and Dahyun, who were exceedingly friendly and tried to get him acclimatised to his new environment.

“I did attend a meeting with the Downworld leaders. That was really interesting.”

“Oh, Woojin allowed you? That was a smart decision. Allowing you to be immersed in something like that,” Areum complimented kindly, something Seungmin was sure that the eldest Shadowhunter didn’t hear a lot from his real parental figure. 

“I think so too. I met Minho first-”

“Oh, my lovely Warlock. Isn’t he a doll?”

Whatever way Seungmin would have described Minho, ‘a doll’ wouldn’t have been the first thing to jump out of his mouth but it seemed that Areum was very fond of him. Seungmin didn’t exactly know close they were but the affection that washed over her face when Seungmin had mentioned him proved that they weren’t just acquaintances.

“Uh, yeah, he sure is. Then Chan came next with Jeongin.” 

“Ah, I see. How has Chan been? I haven’t seen him in quite some time.”

Seungmin could practically hear Areum’s heart breaking from where he sat. It was no secret that Jisung and Changbin were upset about Woojin and Chan’s split and it seemed that it had affected Areum in such a way too. 

“He seems to be doing well. I didn’t really get to interact with him all that much. Jisung and Changbin filled me in on his situation with Woojin though.”

“I still don’t understand why that boy broke up with him. They were so perfect for each other. Chan treated him so kindly and Woojin would do absolutely anything for Chan. They meant the world to each other. It doesn’t make sense and it bothers me.”   
  


It seemed that everyone was in search of answers when it came to Woojin and Chan and it wasn’t just to simply know the truth because they were curious. It was because they were worried, scared for the two young men who were impossibly close, two souls who couldn’t be broken apart. Yet, they had been.

  
“You said Jeongin? I don’t think I’ve met him before.”

“He’s another Werewolf. Chan wants to train him in to take over for him and attend the meetings.”   


Seungmin had admittedly been texting Jeongin quite frequently over the last couple of days since they had met at the last gathering. Not that he ever had friends growing up but Jeongin was someone that he would have loved to have had in his life during his youth. The young Werewolf was a pure ray of sunshine and that light always came through in his messages. Jeongin was constantly asking him how he was doing after Seungmin had explained his situation. Wanting to get to know Jeongin more, Seungmin had asked if he was available to meet up. Unfortunately, Jeongin said he wasn’t feeling too well and that he probably wouldn’t be able to see him for a few days. Seungmin had waved his apologies off, saying that they could stick to conversing through text for the time being but the elder got the feeling that they would become great friends in the future, seeing as they were already getting along rather well.

“So, he’s really trying to move on then. Such a shame,” Areum sighed while massaging her temples. “I presume the Seelie Queen didn’t bother to attend the meeting. The old hag probably sent a proxy, right?” 

Seungmin couldn’t help the snicker that left his lips at Areum’s mocking tone as she rolled her eyes while talking about the Faerie leader. Apparently, nobody seemed to be too fond of her, with Seungmin remembering how both Changbin and Jisung had also ridiculed her. 

“And then I met Hyunjin.” 

It seemed that those five words were all Areum needed to figure out that there was something different about Hyunjin compared to the others. Seungmin really didn’t like the teasing grin that was beginning to make an appearance on the woman’s lips. 

“Ah, yes, Hyunjinnie. Such a lovely boy. Well, I call him a boy even though he’s old enough to be my great great grandfather,” Areum snorted at her own joke. “What do you think of him?” 

“He’s…nice” Seungmin mumbled nonchalantly as he bit into a segment of orange and averted his gaze from Areum’s knowing stare. 

“Agreed. So, have the two of you kissed yet?” 

Seungmin began beating upon his own chest as he tried to dislodge the piece of fruit that went down the wrong way and caused him to choke. Areum was at his side in an instant, giggling all the while and tapping between his shoulder blades before moving her hand to ruffle his hair.

“I’m sorry, that was cruel. You don’t know me well enough yet for me to be making those kinds of jokes. Forgive me. Are you ok, Cherry?” 

Once Seungmin had regained his composure and his breath, he felt a small spike of discomfort where Areum had just removed her hand. In a flash, behind his closed eyelids, Seungmin saw Areum standing above him with a man that he did not recognise, both looking down worriedly at him.

_ “Are you ok, Cherry?” _

_ “It hurts, Auntie.” _

_ “Seungminnie, I’m gonna fix that scraped knee right up. You’re being such a grown up. Be strong, ok?” _

_ “Yes, Uncle.” _

As the name echoed in his head, Seungmin assumed that the man with warm brown eyes, strong jaw and comforting chuckle was Changbin’s father. Remembering someone that he had not met since his return to the Institute was something that Seungmin was rather proud of but it was momentarily shattered when he heard Areum’s concerned appeal break through the fog.

“Seungmin? My dear, look at me.” 

Placing a hand upon the cold stone floor to steady himself, Seungmin hadn’t realised that he had fallen from his seat onto the ground below because of the flashback that had momentarily discombobulated him. The irritation, as always, accompanied the memories that he had so desperately wanted to see, even though what he saw was never enough. 

“I’m ok, Auntie. I’m getting kind of used to it at this stage.”

Seungmin was aware that even more stares were upon him once again but this time, it was not because of Areum’s presence. 

“Seungmin, it is not something that I have experienced personally but to me, from what I’ve read in numerous books, it really does seem to me like there’s a block on your memories, one that is slowly coming undone at the moment for some reason.” 

Gently placing Seungmin back into his seat, Areum didn’t return to her own across from him, choosing the one beside him instead and carefully messaging the back of the young man’s neck to soothe the pain. 

“It’s just from the accident, Auntie. That’s what the doctors said.”

“That’s because Mundane doctors do not know what is possible in our world, my dear. Like I said earlier, it seems like you’re forcing them through a barrier and that’s why it is causing you pain, because you aren’t supposed to be able to access them.” 

There were many things that Seungmin wouldn’t have thought possible over a week ago, a whole world existing beyond his knowledge but he would not disregard what Areum was saying when she seemed to be knowledgeable about so much that he was not. Still, he couldn’t understand why his memories would only recently have been forcing their way back when he had been completely in the dark for the last ten years but, then again, maybe he shouldn’t pull at that thread.

“Why would there be a block on my memories?” 

“I’m not sure, Seungmin. Maybe we could find out. Warlocks are the only ones capable of putting a block on someone’s memories and therefore, they are the only ones who can remove them. Perhaps we could ask Minho to try since you are somewhat comfortable around him.”

Seungmin got the feeling that removing such a block would be a rather invasive procedure since Areum wanted someone that he was familiar with to complete the task. 

On one hand, if there was a block on his memories, that meant that it could be removed and Seungmin could finally get his past self back and that made him incredibly excited. On the other, it terrified him as to why his memories were being locked away. If someone had blocked them, why had they done it and what would he find if they were unlocked? Still, Seungmin had to try. This is what he had been searching for the past ten years and according to Areum, there might be a chance of finding them now. 

“If you think it would help, we can try.”

Turning Seungmin’s chair to face her, Areum put on a stern expression and lifted the young man’s chin so that he was staring directly at her.

“Undoing a block like this can take a lot out of you, Seungmin, both mentally and physically. I am not forcing you to do this. To be honest, it’s just a theory of mine, there may not even be a block. Over time, you may remember more things by yourself. We could wait and see.”

Contemplating on it for a moment, Seungmin thought about the isolation and ostracism he had experienced throughout his life because he didn’t want to have to rely on anyone, lest they leave him. He finally had people who understood him, understood how he had felt so alone all his life and were willing to help him regain his past. Seungmin really didn’t need anymore time to think. 

“No, Auntie. If there’s a chance, I want to take it. As long as it’s Minho who does it.”

Areum nodded carefully, almost hesitant about agreeing to something she had suggested when she realised the stress it could put on Seungmin. 

“All right, if you’re sure. I’ll contact Minho and ask if he could help. But I need you to promise me something,” Areum pleaded before Seungmin nodded with urgency. “If at any point it becomes too much for you, you tell Minho and he will stop. Any pain, any bad memories that come your way, you can halt the unblocking and resume at a different time if you wish to continue.”

When she had gotten confirmation that Seungmin was alright with this arrangement, Areum stood and began to gather the empty dishes from the table but not before she placed a kiss on Seungmin’s forehead. It was an action that shocked both of them as Areum spun around to look at the young man with slight terror. 

It was a jerk reaction, something she hadn’t even meant to do but the thoughts of putting Seungmin in harm's way once again brought out her protective motherly instincts and she had momentarily fallen back into the past, when she would comfort a young Seungmin by kissing the left side of his temple. 

While it had startled Seungmin to be shown that kind of affection from Areum, he did not dislike it. He jumped back a little when Areum began wiping his forehead with a handkerchief, mumbling a thousand apologies for her carelessness, saying it wouldn’t happen again but Seungmin simply burst out laughing at her agitated state, making the woman halt her movements. 

“Auntie, it’s alright. You make it seem like you just punched me.”

“I know but I shouldn’t have done that when we’re not there yet.” 

“Maybe we’re not,” Seungmin began, “but if there’s one thing that this conversation has taught me is that you care about me and my well-being and I have a feeling that you’ve always cared. I trust you, Auntie. Don’t worry.”

It seemed like that one declaration meant the absolute world to Areum when she halted her ministrations and looked deep into Seungmin’s eyes. 

“You remind me so much of your father but you definitely have your mother’s spirit. Such a pure soul,” she whispered, moving a strand of loose hair from Seungmin’s eyes. 

“Were you close with them?” 

“They were my best friends,” the woman proclaimed proudly. “You couldn’t find kinder people if you tried. No matter how much time passes, I still remember the pain I felt that night. It was excruciating.”

“You mean when you found out that they had…”

Areum bit her lip before shaking her head with a sad smile. 

“No. I knew that something had happened to them before anyone else. I knew because your mother was my  _ Parabatai. _ ” 

Knowing much about the  _ Parabatai  _ bond from what Jisung had told him, Seungmin felt a pang of hurt in his heart when he heard of how Areum had not only lost her friends and family on that night but also her soulmate. Jisung had said that it supposedly felt like you were dying yourself when your  _ Parabatai  _ passed and Areum had been forced through that ten years ago when Seungmin’s mother had been taken away.

“I think that’s why it meant so much to me when Changbin told me that they had found you. I thought that you had been lost along with your mom back then but a part of Minjoon actually came back to me and I’ll be damned if I don’t protect you with everything I have…since I couldn’t protect her.”

Seungmin thought that perhaps Areum was right when she said there weren’t quite ‘there’ yet with regards to their relationship but he couldn’t help it when he heard of how the woman in front of him would risk everything to keep him safe, just like she had always tried to do for his mother. Placing his arms around her neck, Seungmin hugged Areum close, not feeling any discomfort when she returned the embrace, placing a hand on the back of his head to pull him further into her arms. 

“No matter what, Cherry, we’re all here for you now. Remember that. We’re not letting you go again.”

* * *

“Chan? Well, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?” 

When Minho has heard the rhythmic knocking on his front door, he didn’t even need to open it to know who was standing on the other side. The Werewolf alpha was rather distinctive in everything he did. 

“Hey, Min. You have a minute to talk?”

“Of course! Anything for my friend who hasn’t bothered to come and visit me in the last couple of months.”

“Min, come on. You know why I haven’t been around as much.” 

“Do I, Chan? You make it sound as if it’s my fault.”

He hadn’t meant it to sound  _ that  _ harsh but Minho couldn’t deny that he had been left hurt when it felt as if he had to choose sides after Woojin and Chan had parted ways. 

Being the High Warlock, his work had allowed him to meet both young men before they had even become an item. He had been their friend for a long time but ever since their split, they could barely be in the same room as each other, bar the obligatory meetings set up by the Clave. Since Minho’s skills were frequently required by the Institute, he spent a lot of time with Woojin and, to Chan, that probably sent a very clear message. There was no bad blood between them in any sense, they were still close friends and respected each other unquestionably but ever since the whole fiasco, something had changed in the dynamic between all of them, a change that the Warlock was not all that fond of.

Minho also knew that the reason the Werewolf didn’t meet up with him as often was because Chan was aware he would continually bombard him with questions until he got the answers he was searching for. So, he thought, why not try again?

“Doesn’t matter. Not like I’m not bitter or anything. Don’t suppose you’ve come to talk about what happened between the two of you by any chance?”

The Warlock saw Chan roll his tongue before clamping his mouth shut, a sure sign he would be playing with the same strategy as Woojin. 

“Stubborn ass wolf. You’re both unbelievable. Can’t even see that I just want to help the both of you. Well, why have you decided to finally grace me with your presence then?”

“I need your help tracking someone.”

Snorting at the request, Minho poured himself a drink, offering one to Chan who took it without hesitation. Was he disappointed that Chan wasn’t here to simply catch up? Perhaps a little bit but he would never turn away a friend in need if he could do something to help.

“Someone is evading a great alpha such as yourself? Can’t sniff this one out?”

“Don’t have his scent,” Chan coughed as he wrinkled his nose at the potency of the drink Minho had handed to him. 

“Who is this person? Some rival wolf making trouble? Vampire that needs to be taught a lesson? Another stunning Warlock like myself?”

“A Mundane.” 

That made Minho close the book he had been flipping through to find the spell that was required to locate someone without a tie to the person. It wasn’t unusual for people of the Shadow world to come to him for assistance on a number of topics; tracking people was a specialty of his but he could say for certainty that only a handful of people had ever asked him to locate someone who did not belong in their world.

“A Mundane? Why the hell are you looking for a Mundane?”

It seemed that the silver haired wolf was going to remain quiet once again but Minho was beginning to become immensely exasperated with his friends and their silence.

“Give me a reason, Chan or you can fuck off. If this is going to come back and bite me in the ass, I want to be prepared. Plus, I’m tired of being kept in the dark when it comes to all of your secrets.”

Minho knew that Chan didn’t want to be difficult and the only reason he wasn’t being forthcoming was probably to protect someone but he really needed to know what he was walking into this time around.

“It’s Jeongin.”

“Huh? Jeongin isn’t a Mundane.”

“No, this kid, this Mundane is someone that Jeongin knew from before he was turned. Apparently, Jeongin met him in the city and this guy saw him kill a demon while he was partially shifted.”

Minho’s eyes blew wide as he whistled lowly, knowing that this situation was less than ideal. The story was becoming more and more interesting as Chan was recalling it and Minho had more than a few questions about it.

“This kid  _ saw  _ the demon? That means he isn’t a Mundane, Chan. You should know-”

“-that they can’t see demons? Jeongin told me that his scent was that of a Mundane and growing up, that’s what he always knew him to be. Something isn’t right and I need you to track him down so I can figure out what his deal is.” 

Figuring that the information was sufficient to go on for the moment, Minho shrugged and began searching for the spell once again. Once he found this mysterious youth, he would pull the rest of the story out of Chan, whether he wanted to tell him or not. 

“Can you at least give me some specifics about the kid? As good as I am, I can’t work off of nothing.”

“Bang Yedam. Twenty years old. Originally from Busan. Jeongin, in his state of delirium from his fever last night, told me that they’ve been best friends since they were kids. I really need to find this guy, Minho.”

‘ _ Obviously,’  _ the Warlock thought as he landed upon his desired page. Minho knew the problems that all of them could face should a Mundane discover the secrets of their world. Best to sort this mess out quickly.

Although, Minho got the feeling that it wasn’t just to hide the secrets of their world but to protect Jeongin as well. He knew nothing of the young Werewolf but the way Chan acted with him the other night made Minho think that something unsavory happened to him since he had left his Mundane life behind.

“Since you can’t give me anything physical of his, it will take a little time. I’ll call you when I’ve found him. Unless you want to come back just to see me in the meantime. Though I doubt that will happen,” Minho muttered the final sentence but made sure it would be loud enough for the wolf to hear. 

“Thank you, Min,” Chan smiled, trying to get his true gratitude across in simple words that were said far too often. “I appreciate it.”

Minho pretended to be incredibly focused on the book in his hands but he didn’t miss the way that Chan moved forwards, almost as if he wanted to hug Minho goodbye, like they had always done but in the last six months, Chan was holding back on showing affection towards anyone who wasn’t in his pack. Minho was aware of it, even if nobody else was. He threw a couple of theories around but in the end, the Warlock came to the conclusion that it was because Chan didn’t want to be close to anyone anymore. Vulnerability had become a weakness to the alpha, relying on others made you susceptible to pain; that’s what his relationship with Woojin had apparently taught him and Minho hated that.

The Warlock barely registered that Chan began to turn around and walk away without so much as a goodbye and no matter how much Minho was ticked off with the other, he didn’t want any tension to be hanging over their heads, so he chased after Chan and caught up just as the wolf opened the door, only to be met with another.

“Oh, Sungie? What are you doing here?” 

Minho cringed when he heard the name, completely forgetting that he had told the Shadowhunter that he was free tonight and that he should come over. Nobody at the Institute knew about their little arrangement and Chan certainly didn’t either. The reason for that? Chan was just as protective over Jisung as Woojin and Changbin were and Minho was sure he’d get his ass beat for agreeing to Jisung’s proposal for a bit of fun.

Locking eyes with the young man on the other side of the threshold, Minho sent Jisung a look when he saw the younger begin to panic, telling him to keep his cool because, if he showed any signs of surprise, Chan’s nose would instantly pick up the scent of distress.

“Hi, Chan. Um, I wanted to borrow a book from Min. Thinking of teaching Minnie about some Warlock stuff. I can come back at a different time if I’m intruding.”

“No, no, don’t be silly. I was just leaving. Nice to see you though,” Chan sighed, punching Jisung’s arm before turning to face Minho. “We’ll speak soon, Min and thanks for the help.”

As Chan walked out the door with one last nod, Minho exhaled deeply, thankful that the wolf didn’t pick up on anything different in their behaviour, seeing Jisung do the same before moving further into the room.

“You could have warned me that Chan would be here.”

“I didn’t know! He just dropped by unexpectedly to ask a favour. Doesn’t matter, he didn’t seem to know why you were really here anyways,” Minho smirked, his unmatched confidence flowing throughout the room. 

He wasted no time in pushing Jisung backwards until the younger was backed up against the door, immediately joining their lips without a hint of gentleness. Bruising was the only way to describe the intensity of the kiss, as well as the grip Minho had on the other’s waist. 

There was no need for tenderness because that’s not what either of them had wanted out of this relationship. Minho had made that abundantly clear when it started all those months ago and thankfully, the Shadowhunter was of the exact same mindset. For Jisung, all he wanted was a way to pass the time since he pointed out that he was way too busy to maintain a relationship with anyone because of his work and that is why he had sought out Minho. That’s all Minho was to him, all he would ever be. No feelings, no passion, no messy emotions that would make things over complicated. 

Minho smirked against Jisung’s jaw as he heard the younger whimper when he left open mouthed kisses there, moving down along his neck before he pulled away suddenly, awfully proud that he could make the Shadowhunter fall apart like this. 

“You have anything in mind for tonight, Sungie?” 

“Um, I, well-” Jisung stumbled over his words as he tried to regain some composure. “I was thinking we could just watch a movie or something. There’s this really cute looking Christmas movie called _Klaus_ that I’ve…wanted to see…”

It wasn’t what Minho had thought would come out of Jisung’s mouth but he really had no problem with just relaxing. At least for the first part of the evening. 

“Christmas is already over, Sung.”

“I know. I just thought…” 

The smile on Minho’s face vanished as quickly as it appeared because of Jisung’s adorable flustered face. Shaking his head at his own reaction, Minho simply shrugged, saying that he didn’t really care, waving his hand to close the curtains on the other side of the room so that it made the atmosphere feel more comfortable. 

“All right then but if this movie sucks, it’s on you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end was a sneaky message to go and watch Klaus cause it is my favourite Christmas movie and so darn adorable. I won't see you guys before next Wednesday so, if you celebrate it, Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a good one. ❤


	18. Enigmatical

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between gone days and their end of year performances, I think skz are really trying to kill us all but hey, it's not a terrible way to go. They've really given their all this year and I'm so proud of them. Sentimentality aside, here we go, onto the next chapter.

Woojin thought that he had gotten away with it. 

Once Jisung and Changbin had come back from their patrol of the city, Areum had all but dragged them to spend some time together. They sat in Woojin’s office and spoke for a while, with Areum telling them all about her latest mission and how her team had tracked down a rogue Warlock who had been selling illegal potions on the black market. While it would be considered an interesting story by any Shadowhunter, to someone like Seungmin, it was like something out of a fantasy novel, a thrilling tale that seemed rather implausible. The young man’s eyes were full of wonder as Areum gestured theatrically to match the tone of her tale. 

As night drew closer, Jisung had said he had some business to take care of, leaving the Institute, accompanied by a worried scowl from his  _ Parabatai _ . Changbin also excused himself with Seungmin to continue their training that they started the day before. It was then that Woojin thought he would be interrogated by Areum about the call with his father all those nights ago. Instead, she became excited when she heard about her son training Seungmin and declared that she would like to see how he was progressing. By the time they had finished, everyone said that they were going to turn in for the night.

Woojin  _ really  _ thought he had gotten away with it but when a small knock came upon his bedroom door the next morning that woke him from his slumber, he thought, maybe not. 

“Wakey wakey, sleepy head. Rise and shine.” 

With an uncontrollable bed head and squinted eyes, Woojin raised himself to see a much too bright Areum peeking her head around his door.

“You’re still in bed? It’s already morning!”

Looking at his alarm clock, wondering why it hadn’t woken him up like usual, Woojin groaned and threw the covers over his head when he noticed that it had not ever reached seven thirty yet, his usual time to come back into the world of the living.

“Auntie, you know I love you but right now, I kind of hate you.” 

“Now, now. How are you supposed to get all of your work done if you stay in bed so late? You need to set an example for everyone by being up before them!” 

Woojin shivered as the covers were torn from him, Areum standing smugly above him with them in her hands. 

“I was up until three finishing what I needed to get done so I could, you know, sleep in. And literally nobody in this place wakes up before eight.”

“Oh,” Areum faltered, the obvious guilt building up becoming clear on her face. “Well, now I feel cruel. Go back to sleep, Woojinnie.”

Feeling the blankets being tucked back around him and a small kiss being placed upon his ruffled locks, Woojin exhaled heavily with a smile, telling the woman that he was now awake and may as well get up.

“So, about that call from your father…”

Wincing at Areum’s words, Woojin felt as if he should have just taken her advice and gone back to sleep. This was something that he really didn’t wish to speak about, telling Areum the bare minimum so that she didn’t hear about how much abuse he got from his father, letting him know how much of a failure he thought he was. 

“What about it?”

“Come on, Woojin. We all know how much your talks affect your mood. What did Yunseok have to say?”

Woojin shrugged his shoulders, an obvious avoidance tactic but he knew that Areum would eventually pull the truth out of him, even if he didn’t want to divulge. 

“He was just asking about Seungmin since I sent a message to Alicante saying that we had found him. Seemed awfully shocked that he was still alive.” 

Though she said nothing, Woojin could feel Areum’s eyes trained on him like a hawk, like she was trying to decipher some hidden meaning beneath his words. 

“That’s all he said?”

“He told me I was foolish to tell Seungmin everything about the Shadow world so prematurely. Nothing new there. But I knew that it was him, I don’t get why his reaction was so severe.” 

Thinking so hard on the subject, Woojin took a few seconds to notice that Areum had taken his hand in her own, gently stroking her thumb across his knuckles. 

“Did he say if he would be returning soon?”

While Woojin had a perfectly valid reason to despise his father, as did Jisung and Changbin, he thought that Areum would be rather friendly with him since she had been with Seungmin and Jisung’s parents. However, for some unknown reason, Areum always seemed to hold the same distaste for the man who caused Woojin far too much pain, not that she knew the extent of it. But when she asked about his father’s return this time around, she almost seemed hopeful.

“Sometime next week. Said he wanted to see Seungmin for himself and if he wasn’t satisfied that he would take him back to Alicante to interrogate him.”

“Well, I won’t let him do that but he’s welcome to try,” Areum snorted, protective instincts coming to the fore, the woman obviously thinking of defying someone who was supposed to be her superior. 

A comfortable silence fell upon both parties but throughout it all, Woojin could see Areum contemplating something, like she wanted to ask him a question that was too difficult to articulate but he thought he might figure out what it was when she called his name with a slight sense of urgency.

“Woojin…” Areum began but trailed off into nothingness again. “No, never mind. It’s not time for you yet.”

Not time for him? Woojin was sure it wasn’t just the lingering sleepiness that was impeding his understanding; he really had no idea what Areum was alluding to but he had the strangest feeling that he was not to ask about whatever it was she thought he wasn’t ready for. 

“I’ll stay here until after your father leaves again and then I must return to Japan. You don’t mind, right?”

“I don’t mind at all, Auntie.”

And that was the entire truth because, in all honesty, he’s felt a lot more at ease when he wasn’t the only one to stand up to his father. He knew Jisung and Changbin wouldn’t hesitate to defend him but Woojin was always adamant that they kept their mouth shut around him for fear of them being reprimanded. That fear was only enhanced ever since…

But Areum was his father’s senior in age by a year, even if his position was of a higher caliber. She was not one to sit back and be spoken to in a demeaning way and she felt the same about the young men under her care. She would easily call Woojin’s father out should he talk to him in a degrading manner. 

“Good. Take your time getting up and I’m sorry I woke you. I should have left you to rest. I know being such a terrific leader can really take it out of you.” 

Areum placed a fluttering kiss to Woojin’s forehead, caressing his cheek with a smile before leaving the room quietly. 

Everyone knew that Woojin never got to meet his mother but Areum was never shy about sharing stories about her with the young man. His father never spoke of her, the reason he did not know but he knew much about her because of Areum. Jisung and Seungmin’s parents also spoke of her before they were taken away but as much as he heard of her, Woojin never knew what it was like to be held in his mother’s arms, to feel kisses full of her love and adoration being placed upon his cheeks, to be praised and complimented and told how proud he made her. 

It wasn’t from his own mother but Areum really was his saviour on that part. Even if it never fully healed, the hole in Woojin’s heart was patched up regularly by the woman who had adopted him and taken him under her wing. Though she couldn’t fix all of his problems, especially the ones he could  _ never  _ tell her about, she tried her very best. 

Woojin was thankful, so very much. He settled down into the soft pillows for a few more minutes to relax before he would have to rise and prepare for the next meeting that would occur in a couple of days. When he would have to see all of them again. To see Chan again. 

Areum could not fix all of his problems. He desperately wished that she could but he had chosen this path and no matter what, he would have to suffer walking down it all by himself.

* * *

Jisung didn’t know what he was talking about. How could he say that Changbin was pouting? Changbin  _ did not  _ pout. Maybe he was brooding, which could be likened to a dark and mysterious kind of pouting but that was beside the point. 

“What the hell is up with you? Why are you acting like a hormonal teenager lately? Thought all of us were well past those years.” 

“Shut up, Sung.”

They were currently waiting in the entrance hall together since their guests would be arriving any minute. It had been a week since their last meeting with the leaders of the Shadow world and they were once again congregating to discuss the rise in demon attacks. Even though all of the patrols had managed to eliminate a vast number of demons throughout the week, their numbers didn’t seem to be decreasing, meaning there were as many new demons appearing as there were ones being destroyed. They needed to figure out a solution to this before any more innocent people got hurt. 

“Seriously, Bin. This bitchy mood you’ve been going in and out of is driving me crazy. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I’ll tell you if you tell me where you’ve been disappearing to these last couple of nights. What’s this ‘business’ you have to take care of?”

Changbin specifically picked this particular subject to use against Jisung because he knew the younger would never divulge that information. He had a sneaking suspicion that whatever it was that Jisung was doing correlated with whatever had caused him such immense agony one night last week. Maybe it was cruel to bring it up, knowing how it affected Jisung but Changbin’s filter for hurting others’ emotions was a bit sideways at the moment. 

“Fine, be a moody prick. I was just trying to help,” Jisung snapped and crossed his arms over his chest, looking anywhere but at Changbin. 

More than anything, Changbin knew that. While he had always made a promise to himself to protect Jisung, he knew that the younger man had also made a promise to protect his  _ Parabatai  _ in return. That’s just how this relationship worked.

But Changbin was  _ not  _ pouting. Maybe his face subconsciously changed against his will when he thought about how Felix hadn’t contacted him all week. There was no reason to be upset about that though. He had only told the Faerie to come back again if he wished to learn more about humans and maybe he didn’t. Their last conversation had been pleasant and he was rather comfortable in Felix’s presence but Changbin was wondering why it was annoying him that he hadn’t seen or heard from the other in a few days. Maybe Felix didn’t think as much of their time together, not that he should. Maybe Felix was just trying to be polite the last time they had spoken since Changbin had given him such a hard time about being rude the first time they met. Maybe Felix didn’t even want to begin a friendship with the likes of him. But  _ why  _ did that annoy Changbin so much? So much so that he was biting back with too harsh a tone at Jisung’s playful intrigue. 

Changbin ran his fingers through his hair when he pondered on his own idiocy, becoming irritated over a young Faerie he had met twice not seeking him out. He had been irked by the Faerie before but this was in an entirely different manner. 

Placing an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close, Changbin heaved a heavy sigh and let Jisung rest his head against him. 

“Sorry, Sung. I know you’re trying to help but really, nothing is wrong. Think I’m just tired from all that’s been going on lately. No worries, ok.”

That seemed to suit Jisung who deflated into his brother’s arms with a huff, trying to rid himself of the irritation that had just consumed him. Changbin began to push his fingers through the younger’s hair, chuckling at the way Jisung returned to his relaxed state and began to close his eyes before he straightened himself as the door opened. 

Changbin had always considered himself a master of his emotions, someone unreadable if you didn’t know him all that well but when the Shadowhunter saw Felix shyly open the front door to the Institute and step inside, lighting up when he laid eyes on Changbin, he thought that maybe he needed to work harder on that particular side of himself because of what Jisung managed to decipher. 

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”   


Tearing his eyes away from Felix for a moment, Changbin stared at Jisung who had returned to leaning upon his shoulder. Now, Changbin knew Jisung like the back of his hand and when he saw the grin on his face that yelled ‘I’m going to tease you about this for the rest of your life’, he knew that he  _ definitely  _ needed to work harder on hiding his emotions. 

“The Faerie? That’s why you’ve been a pain in the ass?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jisung.”    


“Your whole demeanor changed when Felix came in. What the hell happened? You hated this guy when you met him. Are we crushing on the pretty, little Faerie, Binnie?” 

In the flash of an eye, probably not the best impression as Minho had come to join Felix in the hallway, both Jisung and Changbin were rolling around on the floor, playfully punching the hell out of each other. This wasn’t unusual in any way, evident from the way Minho watched them before moving his attention to his manicured nails but Felix seemed to be slightly terrified at the sudden hostility that the two Shadowhunters were showing towards each other. 

“What are you two doing?! Friends shouldn’t fight!” 

Stopping the punches which held no heat behind them, Changbin raised his head at Felix’s pleas to cease their bickering, feeling a little guilty when he noticed the far too adorable pout on the Faerie’s face. It became apparent that Felix had missed the boat when it came to understanding that they were not truly trying to harm each other, not that they ever would. Felix’s eyes darted between Changbin and Minho, as if asking the Warlock to make them stop their fight. 

Perhaps it was a mistake to let his attention roam when Jisung suddenly flipped them over, pinning Changbin to the ground with a rather triumphant smirk. All he could hear in the background was laughter, Minho and Jisung holding the same idiotically cocky snicker that made Changbin’s blood boil with annoyance. 

He didn’t want to look weak in front of Felix, that would be far too embarrassing but he couldn’t seem to unleash his hands from the grip Jisung currently had on them. With his face still smushed into the carpet, Changbin’s eyes floated up towards Felix who had an even greater look of distress on his face, apparently still not understanding that all of this was merely play. 

“Hey, Felix. Do you want to know a secret of Binnie’s?”

Changbin felt his face flare crimson. He knew Jisung was about to tell Felix about his crush. Which was a lie. Of course it was a lie. He wasn’t crushing on Felix. The Faerie would never believe Jisung on that point. But what if he did? Would that be such a bad thing? He thought about the implications and came to the conclusion that maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible. But that would only matter if it were true. Which it wasn’t. No, it most definitely wasn’t true. 

There wasn’t a chance that Changbin could fall for a Faerie. The creatures were shallow, cruel, manipulative. They messed with others for their own amusement. They preyed upon the innocent so that they could have a good laugh. They didn’t care about anyone but their own kind and even then their relationship was kind of shaky with one another. From his own experience and the experiences of those around him, all Faeries were the same.

But Felix wasn’t. 

It didn’t mean anything that Changbin wanted to spend more time with the Faerie after discovering the gentle soul that he was. That he wanted to see Felix smile as much as possible because it made his stomach feel funny but in a good way. That he wanted to try and count the freckles on the young man’s cheeks. That maybe he had spent far too much time thinking about Felix’s lips and how they would feel if he-

“Jisung! Shut up! Let me go!” 

Just as Jisung was about to spill his secret, which he must emphasise again, was  _ not  _ true, Changbin felt the weight upon his back disappear in an instant, the younger Shadowhunter’s hold around his wrists vanishing too. It was only when Jisung screamed with real terror that Changbin rolled onto his back and looked upwards to see Jisung floating in mid air, flailing wildly and trying with very little success to get back onto the ground. 

“If you are doing something your friend does not like, you should cease doing it at once.” 

Felix’s eyes were a burning emerald, staring straight at Jisung with true annoyance as the Shadowhunter yelled at Minho to make the mean Faerie put him back on the ground. Too bad the Warlock was busy choking on tears of laughter as he rolled around on the floor clutching at his stomach because of Jisung’s predicament. And really, Changbin wanted to join him because it was a rare occasion to see Jisung lose his cool like this and perhaps, even rarer to see a Faerie using their magic to aid a human. 

The displeased expression on Felix’s face did not waver until he looked towards Changbin to see what he wanted him to do with the floating Shadowhunter under his control. 

“Leave him down, Felix. It’s ok. We were just playing around.” 

And that’s just what Felix did. Whatever magic had been keeping Jisung up suddenly vanished as the young man went hurtling towards the ground with a high pitched scream, only to stop right before he hit the floor as Felix saved him. It wasn’t a side that Changbin had yet seen of Felix but when he noticed the Faerie giggling at the way Jisung nearly passed out when he almost fell ten feet with no way to stop, he couldn’t help but smile along with him. Felix eventually laid Jisung gently on the ground as his eyes fell back to their normal colour. 

“Serves you right, Sung. Don’t mess with Bin when his new guard dog is around,” Minho cackled as he eventually raised himself from the floor. 

Just beginning to laugh along with Minho’s observation, Changbin felt an uncomfortable sensation in his chest when he saw Felix twirl around to look at all of them with a pained and embarrassed expression. Something akin to ice began running through Changbin’s veins at the dismay that the Faerie had fallen into, his hands shaking slightly when he wrapped his arms around himself.

“Guard dog? Me? I’m…I’m not a dog, Warlock.”

It seemed that Felix’s problem of taking people’s words literally was coming through again as he backed away from all of them after Minho’s jab and it probably didn’t help that it came from a Warlock, the species of Downworlders that Faeries were known to be at odds with. Of course everyone else in the room had known what Minho had meant but Felix seemed awfully offended at the term.

“And I have a name, Faerie. Kinda seems to me like you are his new guard dog. Lighten up, it was a joke.”

“Not a very funny one,” Felix mumbled with shimmering eyes and his head hanging low, his whole demeanor doing a complete one eighty compared to a couple of seconds ago.

That was the exact moment that Changbin decided that he didn’t wish to see Felix upset for any reason anymore. He realised that the Faerie must have felt very alone in this situation since he was basically the odd one out when it came to their friend circle. Everyone at the meetings had known each other for years, with the exception of Jeongin but even then, he was close with Chan and had been speaking with Seungmin over the past week. Felix had nobody and Changbin knew what his views on humans were and the valid reason why. It was because of this that he decided that Felix’s side would be the one he was standing on from here on out.

“Hey, Lix. It’s alright. Minho didn’t mean it like that. He was comparing you to a guard dog because you just protected me from Jisung. He didn’t mean it like you were an animal. It’s ok if you didn’t understand what he meant.” 

Changbin grabbed one of Felix’s small hands, patting it gently as a reassurance that nobody was mocking him. He feared that he was the cause of that since the first time they had met, Changbin was nothing but snarky to him and admitted that without hesitation. After a moment, Felix eventually looked up to meet Changbin’s eyes, also noticing the stares of the other two young men in the room upon them as Jisung whispered something to Minho. 

“Really?”

“Really, really. I promised that I wouldn’t let anyone here treat you badly last time you were here, didn’t I? You think I would let him say something cruel about you after I promised that?” 

Swiftly shaking his head to signify that he didn’t think that, Felix squeezed a little bit harder on Changbin’s hand, perking up a little when he remembered the Shadowhunter’s words. With a little smile of encouragement, Changbin squeezed back before Felix turned around to face Minho and Jisung.

“Sorry, I misunderstood. I didn’t mean to be so rude…Minho…”

Even throughout his small apology, Felix did not release Changbin’s hand, the Shadowhunter assuming it was a small form of comfort as he admitted his wrongdoing with a tiny voice. 

“Don’t worry about it, Felix. Sung just told me that you aren’t used to a lot of things from the human world yet since you haven’t been here a lot. My mistake. It won’t happen again.” 

Changbin noticed that the smug smile that Jisung had been wearing earlier had changed to one of tender understanding. After he had met with Felix the last time, Changbin had told his friends the reason that the Faerie had seemed rude the first time they had met, though he didn’t tell them the whole story behind Felix’s behaviour. That was not his secret to share but it seemed that even Jisung knew not to play with the Faerie’s feelings, telling Minho the same. 

“Why don’t we begin moving into the meeting room? Both Chan and Hyunjin said they would be a few minutes late,” Jisung supplied while already walking towards the room where Woojin was awaiting them.

“You guys go ahead, we’ll wait for the others,” Changbin encouraged as he waved the two of them off with a thankful smile.

Just as the others disappeared beyond the door, Changbin felt a tug on his jacket, the delicate fingers curling around his bicep to grab his attention. 

“Thank you for explaining that to me, Changbin. Sorry I was too dumb to realise what it really meant.”

“You aren’t dumb, Felix. I told you that I’d help if you wanted to know more about humans. If you don’t understand something or think you are interpreting something incorrectly, ask me and I’ll do my best to explain it, ok?”

Thinking he could stare at the smile Felix gave him in response for years to come, Changbin coughed to rid himself of the momentary daze the Faerie put him in.

“There is one thing I don’t understand.”

“Oh? What is it? I’m here to help.”

“Why did you call me ‘Lix’ earlier?”

Changbin felt his chest tighten with an uncomfortable force at the question the Faerie asked with so innocent a pout. He hadn’t realised that he had called Felix anything other than his name but apparently his subconscious was more forward than he would ever be if he were in a right state of mind. Someone you had only met three times was not a candidate for nicknames just yet. Changbin had though and the blank expression on the Faerie’s face face nothing away on Felix’s feelings on the subject.

“Oh, did I? Sorry, must have been a slip of the tongue. I won’t-”

“No!” Felix almost yelled in Changbin’s face before shying away again. “No, I don’t mind if you want to call me that. I’ve never really had any friends to give me nicknames. It’s kind of nice to be that familiar with someone.”

From what Changbin had heard from Felix before, it seemed that he wasn’t particularly close with anyone within the Fae realm other than his mother and while that was truly a special relationship to have, having friendships opened up many other doors within someone’s emotions in a way that a familial bond could not. It was probably another reason why Felix acted the way he did around people with which he was not familiar. But Changbin wanted to try and change that. 

“Alright then, Lix. You can call me Bin if you want.” 

“How about Binnie?”

“Uh, y-yeah. That’s cool too. Whatever you want,” Changbin croaked, trying to act nonchalant but failing miserably when it felt like warm honey was now replacing the ice in his veins from earlier, a feverish happiness doing its best to make him smile at the way Felix bounced on his heels at their blossoming relationship. “Can I ask you something now?”

“Of course, friendship is a give and take deal. Or, at least, that’s what I read in a book that I bought the last time I came here,” Felix mumbled under his breath but Changbin didn’t miss it, doing everything within himself not to coo at the Faerie.

“How come you didn’t contact me since last week? I thought after our talk, you might want to come back here, to me.”

Now that he was saying it out loud, he realised how annoying and clingy he sounded and in hindsight, he wished he never opened his mouth. 

“Oh, well, I wanted to but I realised that I didn’t have any way to contact you. I don’t have a phone that humans possess and my magic cannot penetrate the Institute’s barrier to send you a message that way.”

It was something that didn’t even occur to Changbin. To minimize the possibility of infiltration or attack, every Institute around the world had a protective barrier placed around it so that no Downworlder magic could perforate it from the outside. Even things such as messages that were carried by magic could not make it through, hence why Felix was at a loss with regards to how he should contact Changbin. Of course, he didn’t have a phone either. Since he didn’t need to speak with anyone from the human realm before last week, there would be no reason for him to have one. 

“Plus, you said to let you know if I wanted to come over, so I didn’t want to drop by unexpectedly like last time,” Felix declared with a shrug before what could only be described as a hopeful glint entered his wide eyes. “Why? Did you want me to?”

It would have been so easy for Changbin to straight up deny Felix’s assumption but what would that accomplish? Would it make him feel more in control of the situation since he was still trying to convince himself that he felt nothing for the Faerie? It would undoubtedly hurt Felix’s feelings and Changbin had just sworn to himself that he would never do that. So, why try and keep it a secret?

“Yeah, I suppose I did. I want to keep in contact with my new…friend. I know I said to let me know if you want to come over but you don’t have to. Come and see me whenever you want. Plus, we really need to get you a phone.” 

That absolutely breathtaking smile that lit up the stars on the Faerie’s cheeks was drawn across his face once again and Changbin thought he would have to re-evaluate his adamacy of not having any feelings other than platonic for the young man in front of him. 

“All right then. Thank you, Binnie.”

It was what the Faerie did next that really managed to stir the Shadowhunter’s heart, making sparks bounce upon his skin at the contact. Felix gently cupped Changbin’s face between his delicate hands, pressing his forehead against the Shadowhunter’s as he closed his eyes and giggled harmoniously when their noses carefully brushed against each other. 

“Uh, Lix? What are you- what is this?”

“Hmm?” the Faerie hummed as he cracked open his eyes just enough to glance at Changbin. “This is just a gesture between friends and family that we use in my realm. It signifies our bond, that we will always be tied to and be there for one another. Oh, wait, is this not ok?” 

“Fine. This is absolutely fine.” 

Changbin practically melted as Felix stayed in place, grasping both of his hands with his own soft ones. Even if they were caught in this moment as just friends, it still felt exceedingly intimate, being so close to one another, in a gesture that signified their newly formed bond and Changbin really didn’t want it to end.

Only when they heard someone clearing their throat behind them did Changbin hurriedly push Felix away from him, not missing the small pang of hurt that flashed across the Faerie’s face. 

“Well, well, well. We certainly never get a welcome like that from Bin. That doesn’t seem fair,” Hyunjin cackled at the beet red flush that covered Changbin’s face. 

Chan and Jeongin peeked out from behind the Vampire, just in time to see what Hyunjin had been referring to. 

“Only people that are on time for meetings get a greeting like that from me, assholes,” snapped Changbin as he clasped Felix’s hand and dragged him towards the room that Jisung and Minho had already entered. 

Doing his best to ignore the small whispers behind him, Changbin felt all annoyance disappear when he felt Felix interlock their fingers, turning back to see the Faerie practically beaming at him. Yes, a big revaluation was needed on Changbin’s part, one that he was sure would open his mind to a lot of new possibilities. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say I love writing innocent Lix because I am of the firm belief that he was completely so when he first arrived in Korea based on the groups first impressions of him? Anyways, see you all (hopefully) next week!


	19. Clandestine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys had a great new year. Here we go, the first chapter of 2020.

“Jeongin encountered a Rahab demon in the city last week. It was attacking a Mundane but he managed to save them and destroy the demon.” 

Chan tapped on the screen in front of him to display where exactly it was that the younger Werewolf had killed the demon that had almost attacked his friend. Not that he was going to tell anyone about that particular detail. Only Minho knew of the interaction between Jeongin and Yedam but that subject was on a need to know basis. Chan hadn’t even really brought it up again with Jeongin, not wanting the younger to find out that he was searching for the companion the young man had left behind after he had been turned. 

“Wow, you defeated a Rahab demon all by yourself?” Jisung whistled with an awfully impressed grin that he shot towards the young Werewolf. “Wait, why were you on your own? You didn’t seriously let a kid like him out on a mission alone, did you, Chan?”

The fact that Jisung would ever think he would do that made the hair on Chan’s arm bristle slightly, annoyance clouding his vision since, out of everyone, Jisung should know how protective the alpha was of those under his care. 

“No, Jisung. I sent him with someone but there was a mishap. Something I had no control over. I was busy doing my own damn job to monitor everyone.”

“Ok, ok, he was just asking a question, Chan. No need to get so defensive,” Minho implored, clapping his hand on the Werewolf’s shoulder. 

He began to wonder why Minho felt the need to stand up for Jisung but when Chan saw the young Shadowhunter pull his hood a little further over his face and swivel his chair around so that he was no longer looking at him, Chan sighed breathily, no longer annoyed with Jisung’s claim but with his own heated temper. It made him feel even worse when he remembered the last time he had been in the Institute, how Jisung had asked him to wait so that he could give him something, only for him to leave after a tense spat with Woojin. It was literally only when he had walked through the door of his home did he remember what Jisung had asked of him. 

It wouldn’t be all that surprising if Jisung thought he was no longer seen as a friend in Chan’s eyes from the way the Werewolf had treated him since he had split with Woojin but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He absolutely adored Jisung and Changbin too. He saw them as family but the circumstances surrounding their relationships at the moment were just a bit too difficult to work out. 

“Ok, so there’s been three sightings on the same street that Jeongin saw the Rahab on. There seems to be an influx around here.” Woojin circled the block for everyone to see, making sure that Minho jotted it down to add to his districts with increasing activity. 

“We’ve put up more wards but as I thought, it seems that more rips in the interdimensional fabric are popping up in other places. Not that we’ve even closed the ones that we’ve found yet.” 

At Minho’s claim, everyone twirled around to stare at Felix, the one who was in charge of closing the existing portals with the Faeries that the Seelie Queen was supposed to assign to help him. 

“Um, I’m trying really hard but it’s going to take some time. My magic is a little run down with how fast I’ve been trying to close them,” Felix spluttered, playing with Changbin’s fingers beneath the table for nobody to see. 

“You’re worn out? There should be plenty of you trying to close up these rifts,” Hyunjin chided, legs swung over Seungmin’s but nobody seemed to bat an eyelid at the Vampire’s behaviour. Everybody had pretty much been filled in on what had happened between the two on their first date, courtesy of Jisung. 

“Well, I’ve been doing it all on my own,” Felix admitted, sinking back into his chair a tad. “My queen has yet to assign anyone to assist me but I’ve been doing my best. Really, I swear I have.” 

It was with the final words that Felix turned to proclaim his promise to Changbin. He obviously didn’t want to the Shadowhunter to think that he wasn’t trying his hardest for him, for his friends, for the humans who were in danger because of the demon outbreak. He wanted them to trust him, even if he was a Faerie whose leader didn’t think very much of any of them. 

“It’s alright, Lix. We believe you but we don’t want you to push yourself like that if you’re attempting to close the portals yourself. Min, you think you could get some Warlocks to help him instead?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess. I can make you some potions to enhance your strength too if you want, Felix. Faerie friendly, I promise,” Minho professed, hand over heart as a sign of his honest declaration.

As Woojin rolled his eyes at Minho’s silliness, a gentle knock came upon the door to the meeting room. It was an unspoken rule that, unless a matter of great urgency came up, these gatherings were not to be interrupted. A pin dropping would have echoed loudly when the room became completely silent, everyone knowing that something was wrong as Woojin eyed all of them before walking to the door and opening it slowly. 

On the other side stood Yugyeom, from what Seungmin could see, looking to be in a rather agitated state. Each of the Downworld leaders tried to look as nonchalant as possible, as if they weren’t trying desperately hard to listen to what was now being said. However, Yugyeom had leaned towards Woojin’s ear, knowing that he wanted the Institute head to listen to what he had to say first before passing it onto the others. 

While Seungmin couldn’t hear what was being said, sure that nobody else could either, he managed to hear Woojin’s response when he jumped back a little with wide eyes, a panicked ‘what?’ being whispered back before a terrified ‘from Chan’s pack?’ was uttered. 

That got the older wolf’s attention, the young man rising off of his chair with worry but when Yugyeom shook his head and said ‘No, Seonghwa’s’, he seemed to relax a little, knowing that whatever had caused Woojin’s shoulders to tense had nothing to do with him or his pack. 

Yugyeom handed Woojin a piece of paper before bowing a little and turning to leave. It took another few seconds for Woojin to return to his previous position at the head of the table, doing so with a much paler face and wrinkled brow. 

“Wooj?” Minho eventually questioned when the suffocating silence had become too much for all of them. 

“Three Werewolves from Park Seonghwa’s pack were out in the city for dinner and didn’t return to their home. Yugyeom said Seonghwa tried contacting them through their bond but it was unstable, cutting in and out before it was cut off completely.” 

Seungmin began to wonder what exactly that meant when everyone in the room bowed their heads in resignation, some clenching their fists or letting out hoarse breaths. Thankfully, Jisung seemed to sense his silent confusion, leaning in to whisper in his ear. 

“That means that their dead, Minnie. If their alpha can’t reach them, then there’s no hope that they’ll be found alive.” 

That was why Chan was now holding his head in his hands while Jeongin rubbed his back soothingly, though it seemed as if everyone was just as affected by the news. However, everybody could also tell that there was something else that Woojin had been told that he had not yet relinquished. With a few taps of his fingers, Woojin brought a video up on screen, making all eyes in the room zone in on the image before there were a few surprised gasps, followed by obscenities that were rather hard to listen to. 

A man wearing a long emerald coat, pitch black hair standing atop his head and hands clasped tightly behind his back strolled leisurely along the road but Seungmin couldn’t seem to understand why this man evoked such a reaction from all of them. 

“Azazel? He’s here? In the human realm?” Felix squeaked, holding onto Changbin’s hand tighter beneath the table. 

“This is one street away from where the wolves were known to have gone for their meal so it’s a pretty safe guess to say that the two incidents are related.” 

“Who’s Azazel?” Seungmin blurted out without thinking, clamping his mouth shut when everyone turned to look at him with wide eyes before they seemed to remember his situation. 

“Azazel is a Greater Demon, Minnie. He is a prince of Edom and is said in legends to be the one who introduced the weapons of war to man,” Hyunjin supplied having straightened himself in his chair once the atmosphere in the room had reached an all time low. “If he is in the human realm without being summoned and restricted by a Warlock, it can only mean very bad things. Why the hell would he be here and more importantly, how?” 

“I don’t know but after this video was taken, it cut out which is why we didn’t see anything happening to those three wolves. They disappeared and so did he,” Woojin muttered, locking eyes with Chan from across the table. “I’ll investigate more and see if any other info comes up. If it does, I’ll contact all of you but for now, we fix what we’ve discussed and carry on patrolling as normal. Increase vigilance, everyone and please take care of each other.”

The meeting progressed with Felix and Minho sitting beside each other, planning out where and when they should begin closing the rifts together since Minho stated he was the best person for the job. It seemed that any tension between the two from the earlier altercation was forgotten and everyone seemed to notice how Felix was becoming more confident and talkative around them as time went on, much to Changbin’s delight. 

Seungmin, can you come here for a moment? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”   


Glancing up from where he had been speaking with Jeongin, Seungmin nodded towards Woojin and began to advance towards him. He had just been in deep conversation with the younger Werewolf, almost berating him for not telling him the reason that he couldn’t hang out earlier in the week was because he had been recovering from the fight with the Rahab demon. Seungmin didn’t particularly like the thoughts of losing one of the only friends he had made since he returned to the Shadow world. Of course, Jeongin had brushed his concerns away with a taut smile, letting Seungmin know that there was something that he was not being told and even with how close he had become with Jeongin over the past week, he knew he was not to push the younger man on the details. 

“What’s up, Wooj?” 

“I could hear you speaking with Jeongin earlier. How are the two of you getting along?” 

“Oh, great. He’s a sweet guy. Reckless from the sounds of his extracurricular activities but sweet all the same,” Seungmin chuckled, seeing a fond glint in Woojin’s eye as he spoke of his new friend. 

“I’m glad. So, I also heard you talking about the possibility of going on patrols together.”

Seungmin had to admire Woojin’s hearing because he had been sure he hadn’t been speaking that loudly to Jeongin about wanting to go on a patrol together. While he was progressing in his training, rather quickly according to Changbin, he knew that he was still lacking in many areas and even though he wanted to get out in the real world as quickly as possible to help, he wondered if he would just end up dragging down whoever was with him. Plus, ever since hearing about Azazel, he feared his hopes of joining any patrol would quickly be dashed.

“It’s ok that you were, Seungmin. I know it’s probably a little suffocating having to stay at the Institute all of the time. I’ve been speaking with Bin and Areum and I was thinking that you should receive a few more runes soon. They would give you added protection and abilities that would allow you to perhaps enhance your skills. What do you think?” 

In all of his immersion in the Shadow world, that had been something that Seungmin had completely forgotten about. The only rune that he had was the one he had received all of those years ago, the Voyance rune on the back of his hand that increased his Sight and allowed him to see the creatures of Edom. However, it was Jisung that had first shown him the countless other runes that he possessed, covering his body from head to toe and imbuing him with many different powers. 

“That…that would be awesome! Is it really ok? You think I’m ready?” 

“I think you’ve been ready for a long time, Minnie. Areum thinks it’s a good idea too, so I don’t see why not. We can do it tomorrow, alright? We’ll decide which one you should get.”

“Wait, only one?” 

Seungmin crinkled his eyebrows when he questioned the leader of the Institute, wondering why he couldn’t just catch up with the rest of his friends and get all of the ones he had been missing out on. 

“Do you have any tattoos, Minnie?”

Quickly shaking his head to show that he didn’t, almost as if he was afraid Woojin would scold him if he did, Seungmin was about to question what that had to do with his previous inquiry. 

“Well, from what Mundanes say, getting one hurts but getting a rune hurts about ten times more and the process takes a lot out of you. They’re applied with this.” 

Reaching into his pocket, Woojin pulled out a small silver trinket, something that Seungmin could only liken to a wand that he had read about in so many fantasy novels in which wizards and witches used them to conjure their many magical spells. It was unique in a number of ways though. For starters, this object seemed to be made out of metal, beautiful indentations decorating its surface. The second was that it looked to have a small crystal on the end of it, presumably where it would draw the runes that Woojin had mentioned earlier. 

“This is a  _ stele. _ It is a very important tool in the Shadowhunter world, Minnie. It is what allows us to draw runes, not only on ourselves, but on objects such as our weapons too,” Woojin explained as he held his  _ stele  _ out for Seungmin to take in his hands so that he could examine it. “The strength of runes is based upon the talent of the one drawing them for runic magic. Where you place them is also important. The closer they are to your heart, the more effective they will be.” 

Seungmin nodded slightly, lost in examining the tool for, not only its usefulness but its beauty as well. He vaguely remembered seeing one before on the morning that he first woke up in the Institute when Jisung had been sitting beside his bed. It was amongst the many weapons he had on him but he remembered the silver gleam that had caught his eye and how, now that he thought about it, it looked a little different to Woojin’s own  _ stele _ . 

“Some runes also need to be activated with a  _ stele _ . While ones like the Voyance rune are activated all the time so that we can constantly enhance our Sight, runes such as the  _ Iratze  _ rune which allows us to heal needs to be activated. No sense in having that constantly working and wasting our energy when we aren’t hurt,” Woojin snorted before a look of embarrassment washed over his face. “Sorry, that wasn’t meant to turn into a lecture but yeah, if you’re interested, we could pick out one for you-”

“Yes! Absolutely! Tomorrow!” Seungmin yelled with glee, handing Woojin’s  _ stele  _ back to him before he felt a pair of arms snake around his waist, a bare ghost of someone’s lips on the back of his neck. 

“Wooj, why are you stealing all of my boyfriend’s time? Go and find-”

Seungmin admittedly cringed when he heard Hyunjin stutter before coming to a complete halt with his words. ‘Go and find your own’ was what the Vampire had begun to say without thinking and they all knew that but Woojin simply smiled and apologised for hogging Seungmin before moving over to speak with Minho. 

“Well that wasn’t the greatest thing you could have said, Hyunjin.”

“Shit, I know. It slipped out. Knowing Wooj, he won’t hold it against me, even though I feel like an ass now,” the Vampire whined as he rested his head between Seungmin’s shoulder blades. “Anyways, what I came over here to ask was when do I get to take you out on that second date you promised me?” 

Between Hyunjin and Jeongin constantly messaging him throughout the week and Woojin, Jisung and Changbin texting him when they weren’t around to make sure he was alright, Seungmin thought that he had gotten more messages over the last week and a half than he had the last ten years of his life. He was more than thankful for that though; it really made him feel important and cared about. 

When it came to his correspondence with Hyunjin, the Vampire had been constantly thanking him for accompanying him to the bar last week, saying he had a really great time and not so subtly asking him what his favourite things to do were. It was more than a little obvious that Hyunjin was trying to plan out a perfect second date for Seungmin rather than a generic ‘going to a bar’ idea, even though Seungmin reassured him that he had also had a really great time with Hyunjin as well. It was here that the Vampire had also gained immeasurable courage and had asked Seungmin if it was alright that he could start calling him his boyfriend. Of course, Seungmin didn’t have a problem with that at all.

“Well, I’m pretty much free all evenings after training-”

“No, I want you for an entire day!” Hyunjin harumphed, stopping his foot like an impudent child. “A couple of hours isn’t enough. I want to spend the whole day with you.”

“Well, I’ll have to talk to Changbin to see if he’ll let me off with training for a day,” Seungmin began, trying not to melt at the adorable puppy dog eyes the Vampire was currently giving him. “But I am awfully persuasive. I’m sure he won’t be able to say no to me.”

Perking up immediately, Hyunjin bounced up and down in place while clapping like an overexcited seal. The Vampire was obviously going to begin bombarding him with innumerable questions to create the perfect date for them again before Minho swaned up to them and hooked arms with Seungmin. 

“I’ve come to rescue him. Seungminnie, is this Vampire harassing you?” Minho snickered as he leaned in to wrap his arms around Seungmin’s neck and nuzzle his cheek. A terrible decision to do such a thing really because the moment he did, Hyunjin growled with venom falling from his lips, eyes boring into the Warlock. 

Both Seungmin and Minho stared at the other young man with disbelief before Hyunjin realised what he had just done and slapped his hand over his own mouth. 

“I-I’m really sorry, I don’t know where that came from.”

“A bit territorial for a guy you’ve only had one date with, Hyunjinnie,” Minho goaded with a smirk, letting Seungmin go and raising his hands to defend himself. 

“Not territorial. It’s not like I own him…Seungmin’s not mine…He’s his own person…I feel like I’m digging myself into a hole and now I don’t know how to get out,” quavered Hyunjin as he kept rambling until Seungmin walked forwards and pressed his fingers to his lips. 

“Woah, breathe, Hyunjin. Minho was just messing with you,” Seungmin placated as he carded his fingers through the Vampire’s soft locks, making Hyunjin visibly deflate and lean into Seungmin’s fingers continually threading through his hair. 

“Well, not technically but I am here to take you away, Seungminnie. Are you ready to try this out?” 

“Wait, where are you going with him?” 

Seungmin was sure it was going to be Hyunjin asking that question but when he turned to answer, he noticed a strangely worried looking Jisung struggling to look over Hyunjin’s shoulder at him. 

“Minho’s going to try and see if there’s a block on my memories. Just going to a room within the Institute to see if he can, for lack of a better phrase, work his magic.”

“Oh, ok then. Good luck, I guess,” Jisung beamed, though that perturbed face had not yet shifted to one of understanding. Why Seungmin going anywhere with Minho would vex Jisung was beyond him since everyone at the Institute spoke so highly of the Warlock. Minho seemed to notice it too when he raised an eyebrow before shaking his head and telling Seungmin to follow him. 

“I’ll call you later, ok? We can discuss what we’re going to do when I do.”

“I’ll eagerly await by the phone then. Good luck,” Hyunjin mused as he bent down to peck Seungmin’s cheek, just as the Shadowhunter had done on the night of their first date. It seemed to be an unspoken thing between them that neither wanted to go too far too fast, savouring in the little moments that were given to them. 

“All right, all right. Before this gets any softer, I’m taking him away. See you guys later,” Minho gagged, dragging Seungmin off with a wave, both Hyunjin and Jisung returning the gesture with smiles full of nothing but ‘go get ‘em, Minnie.’

* * *

“Areum, you have my word, I promise I won’t hurt him. I know what I’m doing. I am the High Warlock of Seoul after all.”

The dimly lit room that Seungmin had been led to by Areum and Minho didn’t seem like it was used very often. It looked like your average office, nothing spectacular about it in any sense when all it held was a desk and a few bookshelves. It was located quite a bit away from where they had left the others in the meeting room but Seungmin supposed that was the whole point, to complete this exercise somewhere that they wouldn’t be disturbed.

“You know I trust you, Minho but I’m a mom. It’s in the job description they give us at orientation to worry about our kids.”

A knowing smirk made its way to both young men’s lips at Areum’s joking statement, realising that was true enough. 

“Auntie, I’ll be fine. I can do this on my own,” Seungmin promised with certainty. He believed in Minho too, even though he didn’t know him too well. He remembered him, the small memory he had been allowed providing him with that certainty but looking at it objectively with regards to his situation, that didn’t mean anything. But he trusted Minho, not that he was basing that on anything in particular. Call it a gut feeling or intuition. 

“Ok, if you’re sure. I’ll be right down the hall if you need me,” Areum stated as she hesitated from leaving the room until Minho sent her one last look, a promise sealed within his eyes, telling the woman that he would look after the young man to be left in his care. 

Stomach swirling with far too many butterflies, Seungmin eagerly sat himself on a rickety chair, straight in front of Minho, the Warlock trying to calm his anxious heart with a placating hand upon his knee. 

They both knew what was at stake here. If there wasn’t anything obscuring Seungmin’s memories, then that was it. There was nothing more that Minho could do to help him rediscover his past. However, if there was and Minho could undo it, everything in Seungmin’s life could be set right again. The life that had escaped him for over ten years, the family and friends that he had lost along the way, the recollection of a night that could change the course of history; everything would be at his fingertips again. 

“Alright, Seungminnie, are you ready?” 

Seungmin had never been more ready for anything in his entire life. Nodding furiously to signify he was, Seungmin felt his fingers begin to tingle with excitement as Minho scooted his chair a little bit closer to begin the ritual. 

“One last thing before we start. I’m not going to lie, something like this can be very uncomfortable, regardless if there is a block or not,” Minho warned with a serious tone. “If at any point you want to stop, I want you to squeeze my knee.” 

Seungmin was sure that Minho felt his hands trembling when he held onto his wrist and placed the younger’s palm upon his leg. Once again, Seungmin merely nodded before his chin was tilted upwards so that he looked at Minho’s weighted, no nonsense gaze.

“I want you to say it out loud, Seungminnie. Promise me you’ll stop me if this distresses you in any shape, way or form. I know you want to find your memories and you may be ok with hurting yourself to get them back but I am not ok with being the one to hurt you.”

Without a shadow of a doubt, Seungmin knew that Minho wouldn’t proceed without verbal consent and a guarantee that he would not continue if he was in pain and while it may have been because of the looming threat of Areum killing him if he did harm Seungmin, he was sure that this was Minho’s way of showing that he truly cared for his well being too. 

“I promise, Minho.”

“Ok, then. Let’s begin.” 

As Minho placed two fingertips on both sides of Seungmin’s temple, the atmosphere of the room seemed to become warmer, sparked with what Seungmin could only guess to be the Warlock’s magic just before he began the intrusive procedure. 

“Close your eyes, Seungminnie.”

Doing just that, Seungmin attempted to let his body relax even though his mind was running a hundred miles a minute. For what felt like an age, there was nothing. Seungmin began to wonder if Minho had actually started his spell and he just couldn’t feel anything. The warnings of uneasiness popped into his mind but he felt more at peace than anything else. Even though he wasn’t supposed to, Seungmin was about to open his eyes before he got the confirmation that Minho had just begun the spell when an unparalleled discomfort shot through his head. In that moment, he couldn’t open his eyes even if he wanted to. It felt like there was a weight upon his eyelids, one that wouldn’t budge no matter how much he tried. 

_ “Minnie! Come play with me and Wooj! I got new toys!” _

Seungmin felt a frown formed on his face at the words that echoed through his head, but there was nothing but a dark abyss in his vision. It sounded like Jisung but a much younger version of the young man who apparently still held such a bubbly tone as a child.

_ “Cherry, my dear, you need to eat your vegetables.” _

That was Areum, no doubt about it, her scolding yet soothing tone undeniably her but why couldn’t he see her when he could so clearly hear her voice?

_ “You need to try a lot harder than that if you want to become a decent Shadowhunter.” _

That was a voice that Seungmin had not encountered before but it held such a cold and derisive tone that Seungmin could probably hazard a guess as to who it was based on what he had heard about the man from the others at the Institute. 

_ “Stay right here, sweetheart, we’ll be right back.” _

His mother’s voice from the night of the attack. Seungmin had recollected that memory the night he had returned to the Institute. The darkness in front of him began to sprout light, like he was going to finally be able to see something as the memory continued on. He could hear screaming, blood curdling cries for help, the snap and crackle of flames surrounding him. Seungmin could almost feel the heat emanating from them as a picture started to form in front of him. 

A shadow with no face stood ahead, lurking above him with such animosity flowing from their dark form as the fire and smoke rose higher and higher behind them. Man or woman, he did not know. All that Seungmin was aware of was that he wanted to run, to escape and he really had no idea if these were his current feelings or the ones he had felt on that fateful night. 

Fear. No. Terror. Nauseating horror and alarm gnawed at his bones as his surroundings started to become clearer to Seungmin. People were running, buildings collapsing around him, the emetic stench of burning flesh being thrust upon him since he couldn’t escape. Hands reached towards him, fingers cracking as they began to ghost across his skin. Seungmin wanted to leave, to tell Minho to stop but the answers he was searching for were so close he could almost taste them. 

Until suddenly, they weren’t. 

The figure began to retreat and Seungmin began to chase it but couldn’t move from his spot, his limbs not responding to what he was trying to get them to do. Everything was returning to black, the sounds and sights were falling back into nothingness, his memories escaping him once again.

This was not how this was supposed to go. It felt like whatever magic had taken over his mind during the spell had suddenly vanished and Seungmin could only guess that the Warlock had ceased the conjuration. Minho was supposed to remove it the block, he had promised. So, why wasn’t he doing it? Seungmin knew they were close and he hadn’t told the Warlock to halt, even though he probably should have. He wanted to scream at Minho to keep going. In fact, he  _ was  _ screaming but not  _ at  _ Minho. It hurt, everything hurt and Seungmin only realised when he focused on the sound of his own cries, that Minho was screaming back. 

“Seungminnie, open your eyes for me! Please,” Minho begged with such a terrified tone that Seungmin had no choice but to obey. 

Opening his eyes to frantically stare at the Warlock, Seungmin noticed how laboured his breathing had become, how there were tiny droplets of sweat running down his face, how he was resting upon Minho’s knee as they sat on the floor together and the elder held him close. 

“Fucking fuck, Seungmin! Are you ok?!”

“What happened?” Seungmin winced as he heard the coarseness of his own voice, trying to clear his throat but to no avail as his tone remained gruff. 

“The spell backfired,” the Warlock fretted, helping Seungmin up into the chair he had fallen out of moments ago. “There is indeed a block on your memories and a strong one at that.” 

“Why didn’t you remove it then? You said that you would!” 

It wasn’t in his nature to get agitated and even if he did, Seungmin always managed to keep his feelings internalised because nobody would have listened to his complaints anyways. However, when he heard that Minho stopped what he had been doing despite promising him that he would do everything in his power to help Seungmin recover his past, Seungmin couldn’t help the malice that glazed his words. 

“Seungmin, listen to me. Firstly, you started screaming while you were immersed in my magic. I was just about to retract my influence but I was pushed out of your mind through sheer force. Literally. It was like a shockwave came from you and flung me onto the floor. I was forcibly removed and didn’t cut off the ritual properly. You’re lucky that the damage wasn’t worse.”

From what Minho had talked him through earlier, it seemed that being forcibly removed wasn’t an obstacle that the Warlock had anticipated meeting.

“And secondly...I actually couldn’t remove the block.” 

The whole reason that Areum had chosen Minho was because he was the High Warlock of Seoul. He had done this numerous times before and both seemed sure that the young man could get the job done. A powerful Warlock such as himself shouldn’t have so much trouble removing something like this but he had just said that he was unable to do so. 

“What do you mean?”

“Before I answer that, I want to ask you something kind of strange.”

“Alright."

Minho stood and hesitated a moment before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out something small and rectangular. It took Seungmin’s addled mind a couple of seconds to realise it was the Warlock’s wallet and he couldn’t help but snort at himself when he thought about how sure he was that people like Minho would carry around little satchels of coins for currency and not what looked to be a rather expensive leather wallet with his initials engraved into it. Stupid fantasy novels feeding him lies as he grew. 

Minho dug deep within it until he pulled out a folded piece of thick paper, flicking it open to reveal a picture on one side. A flash of fondness overtook Minho’s features for a second before the confuddled frown that had been there a moment ago returned. 

“Seungminnie, I need to know. Do you know who this man is?” 

Confused as to why he would be familiar with anyone that Minho kept a photo of on his person, Seungmin focused in on the item in Minho’s hand, taking it in his own and scrutinising it. In it, he noticed two men of differing ages but both holding nothing but loveliness in their faces. The first, of course, he recognised to be Minho but he noticed that he was dressed in clothes that Seungmin would attribute to the reruns he saw of awful sitcoms that used to air in the 80’s. Then again, that could have very well been when the photograph was taken if the creased edges and discolouration were anything to go by. Smartly assuming that Minho wasn’t referring to himself in the photograph, Seungmin directed his attention to the other person standing beside the young Warlock, the elder’s arm gently pulling Minho close. 

That was when an uneasy queasiness hit his gut. The second chap seemed to be in his late thirties or early forties, sporting the same horrific clothes as Minho, beaming brightly at the camera snapping their moment on a beautifully sunny day. While he didn’t look exactly the same, Seungmin realised, without a shadow of a doubt, that he  _ did  _ indeed know this man. 

“Yeah…I do know him.”

That was all that was needed to make Minho’s complexion drain of every ounce of colour, the Warlock snapping back the photograph from Seungmin’s hand and staring at it incredulously before kneeling in front of the younger and shoving his possession back in his face. 

“You are absolutely sure you know him? How? Seungmin, how do you know him?” 

Distress began to cloud the once tranquil room, Minho’s troubled state making Seungmin feel more than a little concerned with how much the Warlock’s disposition had changed after he had confirmed he knew who it was in the photograph with him. 

“He used to come to the orphanage I lived in. Once a week, on Sunday afternoons, he would come and visit us, play games with us, read stories to us. He never missed a day and was always super nice to me. Minho, you’re kind of scaring me. What does this have to do with the block on my memories? Who is this guy? Why do you know him?”   


Running towards the door and turning the lock rather hastily, Minho returned to Seungmin’s side once again, taking the young man’s hands in his own and squeezing them with such a grip that Seungmin was sure it would leave marks. 

“Seungmin, I’m going to tell you but I need you to promise me, until I figure everything out, you won’t speak of this to anyone else, ok?”    


Not really knowing what he was agreeing to but still trusting Minho all the same, Seungmin frowned and gingerly nodded his head but the Warlock increased his grip even more, possibly not realising he was hurting the younger in the alarmed condition he was in. 

“Seungmin. Promise. Me.” 

“I promise, Minho. Now, tell me,” Seungmin whimpered, almost worrying more about Minho than himself. 

“The man in this photo is my mentor. His name is Im Jihoon. I had been his apprentice for the last sixty or so years but last week he passed away.” 

Seungmin was about to extend his sympathies to the Warlock for the passing of his teacher but Minho didn’t give him a chance as he continued to plough ahead with his explanation. 

“I used to visit the Institute with him when you were a young boy. You knew him and he you.” 

That was not what Seungmin had been expecting to hear. It was not that he had remembered Jihoon from his memories that were lost, he knew the man because of his weekly visit to his home that he had found in the orphanage. He had never really taken interest in the man’s name in all of the times that he had come to see them, not ever questioning why some random stranger was taking time to bring a little happiness to them every week and thinking back on it, he really knew nothing about the man that had apparently taught Minho everything he knew. 

“Every Warlock’s magic has a telltale sign that it belongs to them. Kind of like a signature if you want to think of it that way. It means very little when you cannot identify who the magic belongs to but I would be able to pinpoint Jihoon’s magic anywhere. And I did. On the block in your mind. It radiates his magic.”

It was rather obvious the way Seungmin’s whole body went rigid and Minho’s explanation and he was sure the Warlock picked up on it too when the hold he had on his hands loosened. Minho’s mentor was the one who had put the block on his memories and even though Seungmin was sure that he was a good actor, there was no way that Minho had known about this based on the shakiness of his voice during his explanation. 

“And that is the reason that I cannot remove it. I never surpassed him in strength and the level that I am at right now, it is too strong for me to overcome. He…my mentor is the one who put the block there, Seungmin.”    
  


Seungmin began to wonder what exactly it was that meant for him. If Minho’s mentor was indeed the one who had blocked his memories, then shouldn’t Jihoon have tried to keep as far away as possible from him? What good would come out of being that close to the one you were trying to keep in the dark? It made absolutely no sense to Seungmin and all of this was beginning to annoy him. 

“Why? Why would he do that to me?” 

“I don’t know, Seungmin but I promise you that I will find out but until then, you can’t tell anyone about this, ok? I don’t need the Clave conducting a full blown investigation while I’m trying to figure this out,” Minho pleaded, running his nimble fingers through his hair. “Plus, I don’t want anyone thinking that Jihoon did this to hurt you unless I find proof that he did.”

It was clear as day to Seungmin that this Jihoon was not only Minho’s teacher but someone the Warlock held very close to his heart; a father figure as it were. He didn’t want anyone, especially people he considered close friends, doubting the man who had just passed when they all thought well of him. Seungmin debated but when he remembered the flashes that he had just seen of his memories, the ones that made him cry out in pain, he began to wonder if Jihoon had blocked them off for his own good, for the sake of his sanity. 

“Not a single soul. Not Woojin, not Changbin, not Jisung, not Hyunjin. Nobody, Seungmin. Ok? Please.” 

“Ok, Minho, I promise.”

With a tremendously shaky exhale, Minho stood from where he was crouched and embraced Seungmin with the same strangulating grip he had on his hands earlier, making the younger groan uncomfortably until he was released. 

“Thank you. I’ll put everything else I have to do aside and focus on this, Seungmin. I want to know what’s going on but I also want you to get your memories back. Don’t worry, ok? I’ll think of a way to explain this.” 

With a promise of silence between them, Minho offered his hand to Seungmin which the Shadowhunter took without hesitation. While Seungmin had not regained his memories, he wasn’t left with empty hands when they exited the room. 

A terrifying shadow, the unmovable block, Minho’s mentor; new information had come to light, information that he had just promised not to tell anyone. It was a secret he intended to keep for now until Minho searched. Only time would tell if something would come out of this but there was only one way to find out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A revelation has come to light. What does Jihoon have to do with Seungmin's past? Hmmm....  
The next couple of chapters are kind of a mixture of the present and flashbacks to the past but it explains a lot that you guys need to know, so hopefully you'll enjoy them. See you then.


	20. Epiphany

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't wait to put this chapter up because it is one of my favourites that I have written so far. Kinda Changlix, I guess? You'll get what I mean when you read it! Let me know what you guys think.  
Also, I swear this is a Seungmin/Seungjin based story. I wonder if some of you are annoyed with the momentary lack of them but I promise there will be plenty more of them coming! Please enjoy the Changlix for now. ❤

“So, it’s ok if I come around whenever I want to?”

“Of course, Lix. That’s what I said isn’t it?” Changbin huffed with a sympathetic smile, knowing that the Faerie was still trying to make sure he wasn’t interpreting the Shadowhunter’s words incorrectly. 

As Changbin led Felix outside to say their goodbyes, he couldn’t help but notice the abundance of shining stars surrounding the crescent moon in the centre of the vastness above. Felix seemed to be enamoured with them too, the Faerie’s gaze set straight upon the sky and it was only then that Changbin realised, he would rather look at Felix than at the beauty above and if that didn’t say something about his feelings when it came to the other, he didn’t know what did. 

“Is there something on my face?” 

“What?” Changbin spluttered, his knees nearly giving way when he knew he had been caught staring at the Faerie who was now trying to cover an imaginary blemish upon his cheeks. 

“Is it my freckles?” Felix asked with far too much hurt interwoven into his voice. “I know they’re not pretty. I don’t know why I have them, no other Faerie does. I don’t-”

“Woah, hold up. Did you just say your freckles aren’t pretty?” 

If Changbin had sounded outraged at Felix’s proclamation, that’s because he most certainly was. Whoever had made the young man feel insecure about the constellations on his cheeks would swiftly have their legs broken if Changbin ever got his hands on them. The fact that the idea also drew a small pout on the Faerie’s face made Changbin think that breaking the offender’s legs would be too light of a punishment. 

“They’re not. That’s what everyone always tells me, that they’re a stain,” Felix whispered as he continued to rub his cheeks, like that would magically remove them. It occurred to Changbin that Felix was also trying to hide them from his sight, despite Changbin having not only seen but admired them on numerous occasions.

“Lix, that’s ridiculous. They are no such thing. Who told you that?”

Grabbing Felix’s wrists with perhaps a tad too much force, Changbin took the Faerie’s hands away from his face, immediately letting go when he saw the spark of fear in his eyes before indignation overtook it. 

“They are! Everyone from home always says that a Faerie shouldn’t have marks like these on their face, making them unsightly! They tell me it’s because my father was a Wild Faerie, someone not a part of the Queen’s realm and I’m imperfect because of his blood. They all say it so it must be true. Why do I have to be different from everyone else?! ” Felix yelled with his bottom lip beginning to tremble as he moved his hands back up to his eyes. 

In a matter of seconds, a serene moment of stargazing had changed into a self destructive episode and Changbin really couldn’t stand to see Felix in this state. Faerie’s emotions were extremely volatile, even though they were supposedly good at disguising them; that was something that Changbin had learned growing up in all his studying and Felix’s sudden outburst was proof of that. Not that he couldn't completely understand why when Felix had apparently been subjected to more than a little bullying and degradation throughout his life by the people he was supposed to consider family.

“Listen here, you silly Faerie,” comforted Changbin as he placed his hands gently around Felix’s neck, swiping at his heated cheeks. “First of all, being different is not a bad thing. In fact, I like to think of it as a blessing. I think you’re different in a lot of ways compared to other Faeries I’ve met, in a really positive way.”

That was the first step in helping Felix understand that he didn’t have to hide himself from Changbin as he finally raised his head, eyes sparkling with unshed tears, face still being encased in the Shadowhunter’s hands.

“Secondly, whoever told you that your freckles are ‘unsightly’ is an asshole.”

“The Queen told me that a few times.” 

“Oh, well, then your queen is an asshole.”

Though he was sure Felix was conflicted on how he should react to that statement, Changbin felt his mood grow lighter when the Faerie laughed mellifluously through his nose, his beautiful smile becoming brighter than the stars with each passing second. 

“Finally, nobody is perfect, not even those stuck up Faeries back in your realm. Everyone has flaws, even if you can’t see them on their skin. No one is perfect, Lix but you come pretty damn close.”

“You really think so?” Felix asked hopefully.

“I really do, Lix.”

A wonderful quietness interrupted only by the low hoots of an owl somewhere in the distance fell upon the two young men who could do nothing but smile at each other under the circumstances. Knowing that the action would mean a lot to Felix, Changbin slowly placed their foreheads together, just as they had earlier on in the evening when Felix explained the important meaning behind it. It was an instant that neither seemed to want to leave but both were forced to when a voice broke through their reverie, shaking from their dreamlike state. 

“Felix?”

Changbin jumped back when he heard his mother call out to the Faerie, whipping around to see her staring at both of them in their, perhaps, too intimate moment. His mind raced on how he was going to explain what was just happening between them, not immediately wondering how it was that she knew his name in the first place. Even after everything they had talked about, he had maybe failed to mention the lavender haired young man that he had met a week ago; the reason for that, he didn’t want to say. He debated that maybe one of his friends had mentioned Felix but even then, she shouldn’t have known what he looked like but from the way her face lit up when she saw him, it seemed like she did.

“Oh my goodness, it is you. Wow, the last twenty years have been a lot kinder to you than they have to me. You haven’t changed at all. What on earth are you doing here?”

Felix had just about the same reaction as Changbin, turning around to face him as if waiting for an introduction, which Changbin promptly gave. 

“Uh, Felix, this is my mother, Seo Areum. I would introduce Felix to you, Mom but it seems as if I don’t need to. He’s the proxy that the Seelie Queen sent to oversee the meetings.”

The way Areum’s eyes searched Felix’s face for any changes in emotions showed that she was hoping that the way her son spoke of her would spark a reaction but her hopes were swiftly dashed. 

“I’m going to guess from your lack of reaction to my name that you have no idea who I am,” Areum cringed as Felix shook his head from side to side, causing his hair to ruffle itself. “Oh, well then. She didn’t tell you yet. I don’t think it’s my place to say anything.”

Beginning to excuse herself, Areum lowered her eyes and stepped towards the doors of the Institute before Felix caught up with her, moving in front of her path and halting her movements.

“No. You know who I am but I’ve never met you before. How is that? I would like to know.”

Changbin saw the way his mother looked back at him before sighing loudly. If he was being honest, Changbin was also rather interested to know how his mother had been acquainted with Felix when the Faerie had said his interactions with humans had been more than a little limited. From the way Areum placed her hands on her hips and exhaled heavily once again, it was apparent that both he and Felix were going to get their answer. 

“Well, alright. I suppose enough time has passed that I can tell you but we didn’t meet under the best of circumstances.”

* * *

_ The brisk autumn breeze laid its hands around Areum’s neck, making her shiver, her arms cradling the little warmth she had close to her. The sun was just beginning to disappear beyond the tall buildings of the city, night starting to cloak the streets that were becoming quieter and quieter. The young woman was just returning home from an impromptu walk round the city, exhaling drearily as she protectively placed her hands on the small bump that was continually growing. _

_ Starting a family was all that Areum had ever wanted, the thought of having her own little bundle of joy that she got to watch grow up into a wonderful human being making her break into giggles. She had tried for so long with her husband and while there was no success, hearing that one of her best friends was pregnant before her made her heart sing. It had all ended in tragedy however. Hana, a shining star of a person and one of the best Shadowhunters she had ever known had given birth to a son last year, a beautiful boy with eyes full of so much fire which they had named Woojin. The light within Areum’s heart only burned stronger when she saw the infant, taking the baby in her arms and singing a soft lullaby to him since his mother could not, her fragile body not withstanding what childbirth required of her. _

_ She would always care for Woojin as if he were her own, with her other friends in the Institute claiming the young boy as their son too but now, she also had a child on the way, one she hoped could grow with Woojin, becoming the best of friends and siblings in time. _

_ “Little one, I think it’s time we got to bed. Your dad will be worried about where we wandered off to,” Areum sang as she patted her belly with rhythmic fingers. _

_ Her thoughts on returning to her cozy bedroom with a crackling fire were cut short when she heard thrashing along with small whimpers, only to be interrupted by men laughing at whoever was in pain. While her head told her to leave whatever mess there was around the corner alone, Areum’s heart implored her to at least assess the situation, knowing that if someone was hurt because of her lack of intervention, she would have that weighing on her conscience for the rest of her life. Her unborn child couldn’t be proud of her if she left someone at the mercy of brutality. Rounding a corner and keeping herself hidden, Areum’s skin began to tingle from rage when she observed the scene in front of her. _

_ “I mean, he’s awfully pretty when you look at him up close, don’t you think, boys? Even with a bloody face like that,” one man slurred, the stench of alcohol making its way over to Areum and causing her to gag. _

_ “Ugh, you have to be kidding me. This guy’s a freak. I mean, who dresses like that? Prissy little fairy wings, a lace shirt and I think he’s wearing makeup. If that’s your thing man, do what you want with him,” another laughed as he kicked his foot forward, coming into contact with something on the ground that cried out in pain. _

_ When the second man moved to the side, that’s when Areum saw him. A young Faerie without a glamour, pointed ears and wondrous wings on display for these Mundanes to see. Now, most Shadowhunters would immediately worry about Mundanes catching on to the fact that this Faerie was not in fancy dress as most of them seemed to assume but that everything was real. However, the men in front of her were so clearly intoxicated, immensely so that they didn’t even seem to be able to stand up straight, most of them stumbling and leaning on one another for support after they bent down and slapped the young Faerie once more across the face for good measure. That was when Areum knew that she couldn’t just stand there and let this happen; not to protect the secrets of the Shadow world but to protect this boy who had already seen far too much pain on this night. _

_ “Yes, hello? I’d like to report a crime. There seems to be some men beating up a poor, defenceless young man. Yes, I can give you the address. It’s…” Areum continued shouting into her cell phone that had run out of battery about half an hour ago. _

_ It seemed to do the trick though as the men all began whispering to each other, muttering about how they should get the hell out of here and that this ‘thing’ wasn’t worth the trouble, kicking the Faerie in the stomach once more. Normally, Areum would have clocked all of them, letting them know how it felt to be kicked and punched but being almost five months into her pregnancy, knowing her husband would flip his lid if he found out she had gotten into a physical fight, being the overprotective papa bear he already was, she decided to take the sneaky way out. _

_ Once the men were out of sight, Areum ran to the boy on the ground, taking off her jacket and placing it under his head to elevate it. He seemed to be in a bad way, in every sense of the phrase. Blood was steadily running from the corners of his lips as well as from a nasty gash in his forehead, probably from where one of those brutes had kicked him with his boot. His beautiful face was beginning to turn black and blue, the colours contrasting horribly to his pristine wings. It was then that Areum saw the tear in one of them, her blood beginning to boil when she knew that having your wing ripped as a Faerie would be like having a limb torn off as a human. _

_ When the boy let a soft whimper go, Areum immediately held onto his hand, hushing him with a soothing tone. _

_ “Hello there. You’re alright. I’m here for you, ok? I won’t let anyone else harm you.” _

_ All that she got in response was an extremely weak nod from the boy who increased his grip on her hand. That was a promise Areum intended to keep while this boy was in her care. Nobody else would touch him until he was safe again in his home. _

_ “Alright, honey. Can you possibly tell me your name while I do my best to stop the bleeding? I want you to try and stay with me.” _

_ “-ix…” _

_ Dabbing at the boys mouth with a spare handkerchief from her pocket as her coughed to clear the blood from his throat, Areum winced as the Faerie’s whole body spasmed in pain. _

_ “I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t quite get that. Can you try again?” _

_ It seemed that the Faerie didn’t particularly want to and Areum couldn’t blame him but she really needed him to stay awake for the time being until she was sure he would be taken care of. _

_ “Fe-lix,” the Faerie breathed, keeping his eyes firmly shut but Areum wondered if he could even open them at this stage when horrible bruises were beginning to form around both of them, stemming from his jaw up to his forehead. _

_ “Felix? That’s a really beautiful name. Alright, Felix. I’m going to have to move you. My phone isn’t working right now to call for help, so when I lift you, it’s going to hurt but I promise that you will feel better soon. Trust me, ok?” _

_ That seemed to satisfy the Faerie for now as he once again nodded slightly before screaming out in agony when Areum began to take him from the ground. It wasn’t ideal, none of it was but Areum knew it wasn’t that far from one of the few portals to the Fae realm and it was a hell of a lot closer than the Institute. Holding Felix’s trembling body close to her frame as he continually sobbed, Areum began the small journey to her destination. _

_ “Oh, little one. How do I always get mixed up in these things?” _

_ It was in no way easy to traverse through the darkening streets carrying a wounded Faerie while being pregnant, a problem that Areum never thought she would have to deal with in her life. Felix’s legs gave way a few times, with Areum having to stop and readjust her grip on him but it seemed that the young Faerie was completely out of it, consciousness evading him every so often. Between trying to carry the extra weight and attempting to keep out of sight from Mundanes, it took nearly thirty minutes to get to where Areum knew the portal to the Fae realm to be. _

_ Once there, a bridge on the edge of the city above a crystalline river, Areum suddenly came to the realisation that she had no idea how to enter the place that Felix called his home. She never had cause to go to the Fae realm before and if she did, it would never have been on her own. That was a mistake that nobody from the Shadow world would ever make. Faeries were known to be conniving and there were far too many stories, be they fables or not, about people walking into the Fae realm and never being seen again. But now, she needed to get in and the only way she knew how to do that was have a Faerie open the door for her. _

_ “Felix, sweetie, can you open the portal so that we can get you home? I’m a human, I don’t have that power.” _

_ Not even opening his eyes, Felix raised his hand, twisting his wrist slightly as a green light swirled in the air, forming symbols that Areum had never seen before, even with all of her studying when it came to the different species of the Shadow world. When the boy’s hand went limp by his side, Areum was about to try and rouse him once more but before she did, the water below them began to part, swirling around until Areum could see something beyond the hole that was formed. It seemed that Felix had done what was asked of him before falling unconscious once again. _

_ “Well, I guess there’s nothing else to do but jump straight in,” Areum whispered before doing just that, leaping into the portal that Felix had created and praying that they came out alright on the other side. _

_ Fortunately for both of them, they did, with Areum’s grip around Felix’s waist tightening until both of their feet were safely on the ground. Glancing around, Areum had to marvel at how stunningly beautiful the Fae realm was. Douglas fir and giant sequoia trees shooting up towards the night sky, fireflies fluttering around in the air, the moon casting a delightful glow upon the forest floor; everything was so gorgeous to look at but now was not the time to be doing that. _

_ Gathering Felix up in her arms again, Areum began walking since there was absolutely nobody in sight and with the way Felix was now, he was in no state to help her find her way. _

_ However, it didn’t take all that long for someone to locate her. Within a matter of seconds, Areum found herself surrounded by four Faeries, clad head to toe in armour that she knew belonged to the knights of the Queen’s court, pointing spears at her as if she were some sort of threat. Of course she wouldn’t be allowed to enter the Queen’s domain without her permission and get away with it but this was to help one of the Queen’s subjects; surely she wouldn’t get in trouble just for that. _

_ “You shall come with us, Shadowhunter. The Queen wishes to speak with you.” _

_ “Yeah, she can speak with me but you have to help this boy. He’s seriously hurt, I-” _

_ Areum didn’t get to finish her sentence as she felt a firm push on her back to herd her forwards, following two of the knights as two stayed behind her. It seemed as if they didn’t care at all that Felix was injured, all they wanted to do was follow the Queen’s orders and even though it didn’t surprise Areum, it angered her to no end. _

_ “Ah, the stray Shadowhunter. It’s not very often that we get unexpected visitors. To what do we owe this pleasure?” the Seelie Queen almost sneered, a devilish smile upon her lips as Areum and her guards approached her. _

_ Never having come into contact with her in person before, Areum studied the Seelie Queen closely. Agreeing with all of the reports she had read on her, the Queen’s beauty really was unmatched but why wouldn’t it be when it was rumoured that she could change her appearance at will? That was a problem that the majority of Faeries seemed to face. A face to make humans fall to their knees but a soul that would make them stand back up and run away as fast as they could. _

_ “Really? You can’t guess why I’m here? This poor unconscious boy not giving you a hint?” Areum hissed, not trying to hide her indignation, even though she knew that wasn’t the smartest thing to do when nobody even knew where she was and that the Seelie Queen didn’t take kindly to being disrespected. _

_ “Hmm, it seems that Felix has gotten himself into a bit of trouble. Though, from what I’ve heard, it was his own misgivings that caused it. Not to worry, we shall take care of him. Can’t lose a servant as capable as him now, can I?” _

_ Just as Areum was about to scold the Queen for caring more about Felix as a lacky than a person, the young Faerie was taken from her arms by vines protruding from the forest floor, lying the boy flat on his back and encasing him so that Areum could no longer see him. _

_ “Hold on a second! You have to let me know that he’ll be ok. I brought him all the way here and the least you can do is-” _

_ “He shall live if that’s what concerns you, though I don’t see why it should. Our healing capabilities are far beyond that of a human. Is that all, Shadowhunter? I shall forgive your trespassing this time around. You may leave. That is, if you can find your way home,” the Queen yawned, fixing her hair and not paying any attention to either Felix or Areum. _

_ “The words you’re looking for are ‘thank you for finding one of my court, tending to his wounds and bringing him home.’ You’re welcome by the way. Talk about a lack of manners,” Areum scoffed as she stormed away, not thinking about which direction she was even walking in. _

_ Perhaps she should have listened to the Queen’s words more seriously when she ended up back in the dense woods, with no clue on how to get back to the human realm. The forest didn’t seem quite so beautiful when she was traversing the place alone, the once starry sky seeming to darken with each passing second. Any fauna that had previously sought refuge there had all but disappeared, leaving Areum in an eerie silence that crawled around her. _

_ The coolness of the atmosphere started to descend and even though she was a skilled fighter, in a place with which she was unfamiliar without any weapons, Areum couldn’t help but feel a little bit of fear. That feeling became enhanced when a twig snapped behind her causing her to spin around, ready to attack, only to meet the bright eyes of a woman that seemed to be a few centimeters shorter than her, bright auburn locks tousled from the sprint she had just apparently completed, obvious from her lack of breath. _

_ “E-excuse me. I heard that a human brought an injured Faerie back from the other realm a few moments ago. I’m assuming that was you. This Faerie, did he have lavender hair? White wings? Could you tell me about him, please?” _

_ It could have been her newfound maternal instinct kicking in but Areum instantly knew who this woman was without her having to introduce herself. _

_ “You’re Felix’s mother, aren’t you?” _

_ Her theory was confirmed when the Faerie’s eyes lit up in, not only recognition but in fearfulness too since the only way that Areum could possibly know her son’s name was if he was indeed the Faerie that she had saved. _

_ “Then it was him. I knew it, I told him not to go but he wouldn’t listen. Is he alright? Will my son live?” _

_ “Hey, hey, calm down. Felix will be fine. Take a few deep breaths for me.” _

_ Momentarily forgetting about her previous fear, Areum slowly guided the shaking Faerie to a nearby log, lowering her gently but keeping a firm grip on her hands, just as she had done with the woman’s son a little while ago. _

_ “There we go. Just like that. Are you feeling a bit better?” _

_ The Faerie slowly nodded, not letting go of Areum’s hand within her own. Areum could see first hand the power of a mother’s love when she observed both terror for her son’s well being and the undeniable rage towards those who had harmed him in the woman’s eyes. _

_ “I apologise for making a scene. It’s just that…Felix is my everything. I couldn’t bear it if he was taken away from me. I can’t believe that he nearly was.” _

_ “You needn’t worry about that. The Queen assured me that Felix will be alright.” _

_ Raising her eyebrows at the little snort the Faerie let go, Areum got the feeling that the woman currently seated beside her didn’t have very much faith in her leader, something that Areum didn’t think was common practice in the Fae realm. _

_ “Right. That woman was probably just as torn up about Felix being injured as I was, correct?” _

_ “Well…” Areum squeaked, knowing that the Faerie already knew the answer from the way she had voiced her question. _

_ “She doesn’t have an empathetic bone in her body. Made awfully clear from the way she separated me from my son.” _

_ Feeling like there was an awfully long story behind her scorn filled words, Areum gently placed a hand on the woman’s knee, gathering her attention and sending her glance that let her know that she was here to listen, should she so require. _

_ “My name is Areum by the way.” _

_ “Callie,” the Faerie declared, extending her hand for Areum to take in hers. _

_ As time passed, Callie went into detail about how Felix came to be in this world, how being part of the Queen’s court forced her to come back to the Fae realm and leave Felix’s father back in the human one, how once she found out she was with child, the Seelie Queen had looked at her with such distaste that it only took a few seconds for her to be banished and her unborn baby to be claimed by the Queen when he came of age, Callie being unable to do anything about that when she had nobody else to rely on and nowhere else to go. Perhaps, more importantly, because she felt like she was the Queen’s possession rather than her own person. _

_ “Today, Felix visited me for the first time in over a month. I was so happy to see him but after a while, he suddenly started asking questions about his father. He has done so on numerous occasions but this time, I felt like I needed to answer because of the look in his eyes, so much like his father’s. Though, I didn’t want to divulge too much information,” Callie sighed, already berating herself for how her decision had caused the remainder of the day to play out. _

_ “I’m assuming it didn’t turn out too well?” _

_ “You would assume correctly. I decided to tell him that his father was a Wild Faerie, someone not under the Queen’s protection and that he was most likely still in the human realm. When Felix asked why he couldn’t go and meet him, knowing that he could probably get a Warlock to locate him, I will admit that I lost myself within my emotions for a moment.” _

_ It was no doubt a highly complicated situation, one that Areum wasn’t going to pretend she knew all of the logistics behind but she could most certainly sympathise with the woman currently battling with far too many emotions contorting her heart. _

_ “I just fear what the Queen would do to him if he came into contact with his father, someone not from her court when he is still serving her. Plus, Felix has never been to the human realm before and I tried so hard to tell him of the possible dangers but he refused to listen, saying that he had a right to know who his father was and that he wanted to find him. He ran before I could stop him and now...he was almost taken away from me because I couldn’t protect him,” Callie sobbed, holding her face in her hands as she tried to mask the tears breaking from the corners of her eyes. _

_ Without a second's hesitation, Areum took the crying Faerie into her arms, embracing her the way that she knew would put the young woman at ease. From one mother to a soon to be mother, the pain was felt by both parties due to the young Faerie whose wellbeing was now out of their hands. Not being able to go to Felix must have been breaking Callie’s heart, to know that her baby was somewhere, perhaps calling out for his mom to cease his pain but she could do nothing about it. _

_ “There, there. If your son is anything like you, he will persevere. Of that, I have faith. He’s undoubtedly strong, just like his mom,” Areum encouraged softly as Callie pulled back and dabbed her eyes with the back of her hands. _

_ The darkness that had surrounded Areum after leaving the Queen’s domain had begun to dissipate, light creeping through the branches of the overhanging trees above, letting her know that morning was approaching and while she knew she should be getting back to her home soon, suspecting that people would be worried about her, she couldn’t find it within herself to leave Callie alone just yet. _

_ “It seems that you are going to be blessed with a child soon too,” Callie beamed as she sniffled, drying the last of her tears and placing one hand on Areum’s stomach. _

_ “Yes, in a few months.” _

_ “Do you know what it will be?” _

_ “A boy,” gushed Areum with a smile full of sunshine, covering Callie’s hand with her own. “I just found out recently.” _

_ “Any names?” _

_ “His father wants to name him Changbin. I quite like the name too. It has a strength to it, I think.” _

_ Feeling a hit to the palm of her hand, Areum jumped a little, her eyes widening when she realised this was the first time she had felt her son kick. Elated giggles pushed past her lips when she felt another, overjoyed that the child inside of her seemed to know when he was being spoken about. _

_ “I think your little one agrees with that sentiment,” Callie laughed, exclaiming playfully as the baby repeatedly kicked and made the situation that the two strangers had been placed in feel exceptionally lighter. _

_ “I would really love to stay longer but I think I should be returning home now. My husband will no doubt be worried sick,” Areum sighed hesitantly. “Is there any way that you would be able to show my how to return? The Queen did not give me any instructions on how to do so.” _

_ “Shocking,” Callie mocked as she rolled her eyes before taking Areum’s hand in her own and leading her down a path to the east. _

_ “I hope you don’t think me ungrateful when I say this but I think I shall refrain from telling Felix about what happened when he wakes,” Callie whispered, almost looking ashamed at her decision, though Areum couldn’t understand why. “The Queen will no doubt try to keep all of this a secret as I’m sure she won’t want him or any of the others knowing a Shadowhunter saved a Faerie and if I tell him of the events, it might come back to him immediately and immerse him in the pain that he felt on this night. Please don’t think I am not appreciative of what you have done but-” _

_ “Callie, there is no reason for you to explain yourself to me. You are doing what you think is right to protect your son and if that means hiding what happened here tonight, then that is your decision to make.” _

_ Kicking the fallen leaves beneath her feet, Areum was truly beginning to understand the quote: ‘ _ _ When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.’ Everything that Callie did was for Felix, to keep him safe, to make sure his happiness was ensured and Areum knew that once her son was born _ _ , she would be of the exact same mindset; she actually held those thoughts already. _

_ “When he is a little older and has had time to come to terms with all of this, perhaps I will tell him,” Callie faltered but stopped in front of a giant oak tree, grasping Areum’s hands in her own. “That does not mean that I shall ever forget about what you did for me and my son on this night, Areum. I am forever indebted to you.” _

_ Just as Areum was about to protest saying that she didn’t need any repayment and that she was simply doing what she thought was right, Callie lifted her finger to stop her from speaking, the look in her eyes telling the Shadowhunter that this was not up for debate. Areum had helped her son in a time where she could not and that was worth a multitude of favours in the Faerie’s eyes, despite what it was she had been taught about humans throughout her life. _

_ With a swish of her wrist, Callie mirrored Felix’s earlier actions, drawing emerald symbols into the air before a shimmering portal formed in the wood of the tree in front of them. _

_ “I do hope that one day we can meet again but before you go, allow me to bestow something upon you.” _

_ Callie stepped forwards, cupping Areum’s cheeks before pressing their foreheads together and moving both of her hands down to the bump that had caused so much excitement mere moments ago. In hushed whispers, the gentle wind adding to the pleasant chill that ran down Areum’s spine, Callie began a chant in a language that Areum thought lost. Petals from the cherry blossoms above began to rain upon them, a warm sensation filling up Areum’s heart and soul as Callie continued with the words that held nothing but hope within them. With a final phrase, the Faerie opened her eyes, removing her hands from the younger woman’s stomach and bringing them to cup her cheeks once again instead. _

_ “A blessing of my people, that your son will grow to be as strong, caring and brave as his mother. That he will be protected by the gods of your world and mine. I wish nothing but happiness for you and your family, Areum. Go safely.” _

_ As Areum returned the sentiment with a final hug that was full of silent wishes, she stepped through the portal in the light of the rising sun, glancing back at a thankful mother’s face, knowing she had done some good on this night. _

* * *

“And boy, was I in trouble when I got back,” Areum snickered with hands clasped over her chest. “Since time passes differently in the Fae realm, even though I had only been there for a few hours, just over a day had passed in the human one. They knew I wasn’t dead since Minjoon could still feel me through our _ Parabatai _ bond but she couldn’t track me since I was in a different realm. Your father was _ not _happy with me.” 

Changbin stood, jaw hanging open in a gobsmacked state. He had been wondering what his mother would think about Felix should he introduce them but it seemed that she perhaps knew more about him that he did at this stage. 

“You…you were the one that saved me on that night?” Felix asked, voice cracking half way through the question as the previous tears seemed to return at the new discovery. 

“Guilty as charged, I guess.”

A strangely heavy silence settled upon all of them, nobody really knowing what the next move should be. Areum stood waiting, silently, gazing at Felix with a look that Changbin had seen many a time when she would look at the rest of the young men at the Institute that she was so fond of. 

With hesitant, wobbly steps, Felix began to move forward once again. An unsure look entered his eyes just as he stopped in front of Areum before he reached out and wrapped his arms around the woman in front of him, laying his chin on her shoulder and closing his eyes, relishing in the way his friend’s mother and his own saviour immediately returned the embrace. 

“Thank you. I don’t know what else to say except thank you so much. You saved my life that night. I don’t remember you but I remember them attacking me, I remember the pain and strangely, I remember it ending. After that, I recall very little but I think you’re aware of that.” 

Changbin felt like he shouldn’t be here, that he was intruding upon something that did not concern him, even when it was between two important people in his life but when his mother looked up and caught his eye, it did make him feel slightly more at ease.

“There’s nothing to thank me for, Felix. I’m just glad to see that you are safe. Seems like that queen of yours can keep her word about certain things,” Areum replied with obvious distaste in her tone as she ran her finger down the faint line on the Faerie’s wing where it had been torn the last time she saw the young man. 

“If I ever asked my mother about that night, all she would say was that there was an angel watching over me. Guess she thought she was being funny giving me a hint like that, seeing as you have angelic blood and all.”

Both Felix and Areum laughed breathily at Callie’s sneaky way of inadvertently telling her son about his protector on that dreadful night. Since she had been so sure that the Seelie Queen would stop anyone from telling Felix that a Shadowhunter had saved him, Callie was probably included in that. That didn’t mean she couldn’t give him clues in a roundabout way. 

“Would you like to stay the night, Felix?”

Changbin startled at his mother’s words, surprised how an introduction had quickly turned to an embrace before shooting straight to an invitation to spend the evening with them. Not that he would complain about it. His mother just had the courage to ask what he would have liked to.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly. I really must be getting back home but thank you very much for the offer,” Felix bubbled with a hint of embarrassment, glancing back at Changbin as if gauging his reaction. “Perhaps we may talk another time.”

With a quick ruffle of his hair, Areum said that she understood before mentioning that he was always welcome here, even though Changbin was sure there were a number of rules and protocols to follow if there was to be a Downworlder staying at the Institute. Changbin knew that his mother also had a similar habit to Jisung in that she would bend rules to suit what she wanted. Though, she would never break them, that’s what she would always use as justification for when she would scold Jisung. 

Felix bid a quick goodbye to Areum, with many words of thanks once again and a polite bow which, as it had previously done with Changbin, seemed to shock Areum since Faeries were not so inclined to lower themselves before humans. Hiding her surprise well, Areum mirrored the young Faerie and returned the gesture. 

Bounding back over to Changbin and taking the Shadowhunter’s hands, Felix smile seemed to be ten times brighter than before, even if Changbin didn’t think that was possible. Yet, here he was, once again staring at the Faerie and focusing more and more on the stars on his cheeks instead of the ones in the sky. 

“I’ll be back really soon. I promise I won’t wait so long this time,” Felix buzzed with excitement, though Changbin wasn’t sure if it was because of the thought of being able to see him again or after finding out who his mother was. “And thank you for earlier, for saying all of that, about my freckles and everything...”

“Don’t worry about it but I want you to think about what I said every time anyone ever insults you. They’re beautiful, Lix and don’t ever be embarrassed about who you are.”

Pressing their foreheads together once again as a sign of their parting, Felix quickly turned on his heel and waved, putting up his glamour as he walked back into the streets towards the portal back to his realm.

“I didn’t realise you two knew each other,” Areum coaxed, breaking Changbin out of his daze, obviously wanting to know more.

“I didn’t realise _ you _two knew each other,” Changbin parrotted, returning his mother’s teasing smirk. 

“Oh, my snarky child with no respect for his mother,” Areum giggled as she pinched Changbin’s cheeks, causing the young man to laugh and try to escape her grip but with little success. “Come on then, I suppose we better go and prepare.” 

“For what?” 

“Yunseok. I got a fire message to say that he will be returning in a few days.” 

Huffing exasperatedly, in no way wanting to do anything for the man who scorned Woojin simply for living, Changbin could do nothing but nod and follow Areum back into the Institute. 

“So, tell me about Felix,” Areum encouraged, though Changbin did not miss the subtle side eye that she was giving him. 

“You make it sound as if I know him well,” Changbin sassed as he opened the front door and sidestepped to let Areum walk in first. 

“I know what that action means, Changbin. Pressing one’s foreheads together is not a deed that Faeries take lightly. It is not used between strangers. So, yes, I think you know him well enough.”

Sometimes Changbin could not stand how his mother noticed everything. You could look at her with a blank expression and she would be able to tell what it was you had for breakfast, who you interacted with that day, how many times you sneezed since you woke up that morning. It was infuriating sometimes that he could hide nothing from her but Changbin had learned to stop fighting it a long time ago and just go with the flow. 

“What would you like to know?”

“Tell me everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another reason to love Areum? You thought there would be no more! Yup, she was Lix's saviour on that night all that time ago. At least Changbin doesn't have to worry about introducing them now. Predestined Changlix!  
She wasn't supposed to be a part of this story but I cannot stop writing about her now. I hope it's alright that there's so much of an original character but I love her so much. Anyways, see you sometime next week!


	21. Cognizant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Well, you got your fluffy flashback last week with predestined Changlix and Areum being the best mom (in-law) out there. And now it's time to turn the tide.   
Also, I just wanted to clarify something in case I confused any of you last week. Yes, Felix is technically older than Changbin but it is because of where he lives, not because he's a Faerie. They age the same as human's do but time passes differently in the Fae realm. If 1 year passes in the Fae realm, about 3 years pass in the human one. So, even though 23 years have gone by in the human realm since Changbin was born, only about 8 passed in the Fae one. If a human moved to the Fae realm, they would age the same as the Faeries and vice versa. Felix never left the Fae realm other than that one night in the past so in Fae years, he is about 22 but that would make him in his mid-sixties compared to time passing in the human realm. So, Fae only age slowly because of the realm in which they live. Just wanted to shed light on that little detail before moving on. Alright! It's angst time!

_ “Chan? I found the kid. Certainly wasn’t easy and now you owe me big time. His lives at…” _

That’s how Chan found himself standing in front of an apartment door, two stories up with a piece of paper reminding him that this was indeed the right address in his hands. Minho had caught up to him right after the meeting, smiling awkwardly at Jeongin before the alpha dismissed him and told him to go and speak with Seungmin or something for a little while. After a suspicious glare thrown towards both of them, Jeongin complied and set off on his way. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, Minho and Chan shared a short conversation in hushed whispers, trading the need to know information until they parted. 

In all honesty, Chan didn’t know what it was he should expect to meet on the other side of this door. Yedam was a Mundane, Jeongin had told him that but Minho had also confirmed it upon finding him, though he really couldn’t tell him much else about the young man they had sought out. That’s what Chan was here to find out though. Yedam now knew about the Shadow world after seeing Jeongin transform but Chan began to wonder if that was the first instance that he had encountered. Knocking rapidly on the door, he knew there was only one way to discover if his suspicions checked out. 

“Yes? Can I help you?”

Raven hair and even darker eyes, a young man maybe half a foot shorter than the alpha stood with a face full of intrigue as to why there was someone standing silently on the other side of his door. Still being lost within his mind for a moment as he studied Yedam, Chan could say for certain that he was younger than Jeongin, a brightness that he always saw within the younger Werewolf shining through from Yedam’s mere presence as well. Only when the other cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the quietness, did Chan break from his reverie and speak up. 

“Uh, yeah, sorry. Are you Bang Yedam?” 

“Well, that really depends on who is asking,” Yedam replied with a cocky smirk, leaning up against the doorframe. 

“Right. My name is Chan and I’m…well, I came here because I needed to speak with you.” 

He knew he wasn’t being the most articulate with his words at the moment but it was really throwing him off that this kid did in fact smell like a Mundane, despite his friends already telling him that. Chan had known of Mundanes nearly driven to the point of insanity after coming into contact with someone belonging to the Downworld. This was mainly because nobody else would have believed them about seeing some abhorrent monster, no matter how much they would yell. They would continue to spiral until a member of the Clave would hire a Vampire to wipe the Mundane’s memories before they could do more damage to themselves and by spreading rumours about them. 

In fact, there were some of his own pack who had been brought to him just after they had been turned, absolutely terror stricken at the mere memory of a Werewolf attacking them, let alone the fact that they were now one of the terrible creatures from their nightmares. However, Yedam seemed to be perfectly fine, his psyche calm and collected as he didn’t give off any pheromones to indicate any fear or skittishness around a stranger such as himself. There was definitely something strange about this young man and Chan needed to get to the bottom of it, which seemed like it was going to be rather easy when Yedam uttered his next sentence. 

“You’re here to talk to me about Jeongin, aren’t you?”   


Chan’s eyes grew wide at the statement until he scolded himself for giving such a reaction to a Mundane, letting himself be surprised instead of the other way around. 

“How did you-”

“I figured this would be coming sooner or later after our encounter. Come on in then, I assume this won’t be a short conversation.”

This was not how their introduction was supposed to go. Chan thought he was going to be the one doing the explaining, trying to calm and perhaps convince a scared young man that he was not in danger from some monsters he read about in story books. But, of course, that obviously wouldn’t be the way that things were going to play out. 

Yedam’s apartment was, in a word, quaint. It seemed to only comprise of a bedroom, bathroom and small living area attached to an even smaller kitchen. It didn’t look like he had been here for very long based on the boxes full of cooking items and utensils, rucksacks overflowing with clothes and takeout containers on the counters. Either that or Yedam was planning on leaving rather soon but Chan got the feeling his initial inkling was correct. 

“Would you like something to drink?” Yedam offered but Chan slowly shook his head to indicate he just wanted to get through this…whatever this was, quickly. “No? I’m sure even great alphas such as yourself get parched sometimes.”

Feeling himself go on the defense with a threatening growl, Chan’s eyes darkened and focused in on all of the possible escape routes should something unsavoury occur within the next couple of seconds. Yedam knew he was an alpha, something not particularly distinguishable to another Downworlder, let alone a Mundane. 

“What the hell are you?” 

“I’m a human, of course,” Yedam chuckled as he poured himself a cup of coffee but he could see from the alpha’s stare that this was not the time to be secretive. “I’m not going to harm you or anything like that if that’s what you’re worried about. I think I’d get my throat ripped out pretty quickly. I’m not much of a fighter.” 

Gesturing to the seat opposite him, Yedam fell upon the couch, hissing a little as the mug in his hand overflowed and spilled onto his lap. Even from that little action, Chan got the feeling that Yedam was being forthcoming about his feelings, not trying to mask anything insidious beneath his surface to try and trick him into a false sense of security. Not taking his eyes off of the young man dabbing his coffee soaked trousers in front of him, Chan lowered himself onto the sofa, trusting his instincts and seeing where this visit would take him. 

“Figuring out that you were an alpha was just a lucky guess, by the way. I assumed Jeongin wasn’t an alpha of his own pack yet. He just doesn’t seem like the type,” Yedam chattered as he began sipping on his now half empty mug. “The Clave wouldn’t be sending anyone to come speak with me about the incident, so I figured Jeongin’s alpha would instead. Just simple guesswork.” 

If nothing else, it was impressive with how mellow the atmosphere was, at least on Yedam’s side of the room. Chan, on the other hand, was having a little trouble with being in the dark while the younger man was sipping so nonchalantly on his beverage. 

“And how do you know that the Clave wouldn’t send someone to come and wipe your memories after you saw what you did? How do you even know about the Clave? Why are you not freaking out about me being a Werewolf? How could you see that demon on that day? There are a hell of a lot of questions that you need to start answering, kid,” commanded Chan as he exuded a slightly intimidating aura, though it seemed to have little effect on the young man in front of him.

“How about I answer them one at a time and maybe, in return, you can stop looking like you’re going to wolf out and tear me to pieces?” 

Chan wasn’t overly impressed being chastised like a child when he was the one so clearly supposed to be in control but he did as asked, reigning in his pheromones and relaxing back into the couch. 

“Well, as you’re probably aware, being the alpha of a pack and all, every so often, a Mundane is born with the Sight if one of their ancestors was a part of the Shadow world, which my grandfather was. He was a Werewolf. One of the reasons I am not ‘freaking out’ about you being a wolf yourself,” Yedam teased, making overdramatic air quotes with his fingers. 

Of course. Of course Yedam was an anomaly. Chan had told Jeongin about that possibility when the younger had come into contact with his old friend again but he hadn’t expected Yedam to say that one of his family had been a Werewolf. Surely he would be able to sniff out some hint but there was nothing in his scent to indicate anything of the sort. Showing that he understood, Chan bowed his head to let Yedam know he could continue. 

“Nobody else in my family knows about my grandfather, not even my grandmother since she was a Mundane too but when he heard me talking about being able to see monsters that nobody else could when I was little, he figured I had the Sight and explained things to me since the Clave allows it if Mundanes are born with the ability to be able to see demons.”

Chan knew all too well about having to keep your identity hidden from Mundanes, even if they were some of your closest friends. Luckily, both of his parents were Werewolves too so he could speak easily with them but neighbours, friends he grew up with, none of them could even discover what it was that he had hidden deep inside of him. 

“The Clave keeps tabs on all of us, though there are not very many at the moment. They have warned us of what should happen if we ever speak about the Shadow world to anyone who is not privy to that information and for the sake of my life, I will keep my mouth shut on that subject. I’ve been doing it for a long time. That’s why I knew you weren’t from the Clave.” 

As much as he hated to admit it, Chan knew how terrifying the Clave could be should anyone not adhere to their standards or way of running things. If someone such as himself had an opinion like that, he could only imagine how a Mundane with absolutely no way to protect himself against an organisation with that much power would fare. 

“And really, I know the only reason you’re here is to protect Jeongin,” Yedam stated with certainty, a smile full of something that Chan could not decipher crossing over his lips. “That’s what an alpha’s top priority is, right? To protect their pack from any threats?” 

With the younger’s knowledge making his eyebrow involuntarily twitch, Chan had to admit that he was impressed since Yedam apparently knew more about Werewolves than some species in the Shadow world did. His grandfather had obviously taught him well on those points. 

“I’m going to put your heart at ease and let you know that I am not a threat to you, your pack or Jeongin, Chan. Believe me when I say that. Jeongin is more than a friend to me and I would do anything to protect him.”

More than a friend. Maybe it was just Yedam’s way of saying that Jeongin was seriously important to him but Chan felt something else when the younger spoke those words, something full of raw emotion, something that he recognised from when he used to talk about Woojin. 

They remained in silence for a moment, presumably Yedam letting Chan process all of the information that he had been bombarded with. It was a lot to take in, there was no doubt about that when Chan wasn’t expecting things to turn out this way. Once he had put his jumbled line of thinking into some sort of comprehensible stream, a thought started to make the irritation within his blood rise again. 

“You were born with the Sight, correct? You knew all about the Shadow world from a young age?” Chan asked carefully, Yedam nodding to confirm his inquiry. “Then, before the incident, did you know what his brother was the whole time?” 

Chan’s question was already answered when Yedam’s body went rigid before his eyes immediately shot towards the ground. In all the time he had been in the younger’s apartment, Chan felt he was lacking in confidence compared to Yedam but right now, their roles had most definitely been reversed and for good reason. 

“You did, didn’t you? You knew and you didn’t say anything? You didn’t report him to the Clave? Don’t you know what happened because of your silence? You said you would do anything to protect him and yet...”

There was no need to continue where he was going. They were both aware of what had happened to Jeongin from the looks of it but the fact that Yedam had actively stood by and allowed it to take place was maddening Chan to no end. 

“Of course I know,” Yedam whispered, shaking fingers intertwining. “I was going to report him, really I was but he begged me not to. I tried to help him control it, to teach him what I knew but he started becoming aggressive, furious with everything I did to try and aid him and when I told him that I had enough and I was going to tell the Clave, he threatened my family, Chan. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.” 

Chan was about to tell him exactly what he should have done, gone to the Clave regardless but when he looked at the situation from Yedam’s point of view, something really hit him hard even though it was blatantly obvious: Yedam was a scared kid. He had been confused, frightened and wanted to protect his family. Wasn’t that why Chan was here too? To protect  _ his  _ family?

“It wasn’t like I could tell Jeongin or his family about it either. Remember? I can’t say anything to other Mundanes. My grandfather is gone, so it’s not like I could talk to him about it. As much as I know about the Shadow world, I don’t live your life, so I didn’t know what to do in a situation like that. I’m sorry, Chan. I just…If you think I don’t regret not speaking up every single day of my life, then you’re wrong.”

Chan knew that he had probably used too harsh a tone when speaking to Yedam about what had happened with Jeongin’s family. Sure, maybe Yedam could have prevented it, maybe he could have stopped such an awful thing happening to Jeongin and his parents but at what cost? Would it have been Yedam’s parents in place of Jeongin’s instead? Would he now be the Werewolf instead of the young man now under his care, probably busying himself back at home? Hindsight is a terrific thing but it isn’t helpful and Chan knew that he couldn’t truly blame the trembling young man in front of him for what had happened to Jeongin. 

“What is Jeongin to you?”

“What?” Yedam spluttered, panicking for some reason at Chan’s question. 

“What is he to you? I want you to tell me.” 

From that small reaction, Chan could already guess that his earlier suspicions were true with regards to Yedam’s feelings for his young pup but he wanted to hear it straight from the source. 

“What is Jeongin to me?”   
  


* * *

_ “If you don’t get your hand away from my chocolate, then you will lose it, Jeongin.”  _

_ Yedam conceded that the older boy’s laugh made every ounce of irritation in his body just melt away. The way his beautiful eyes crinkled shut with each giggle made flowers bloom within his chest, the feeling unlike anything he had ever experienced before.  _

_ It was a regular Friday evening, both of them snuggled up on Jeongin’s bed, tucked beneath the fleece blankets while watching a Disney movie that they had both seen a million times before.  _

_ Despite the warning, Jeongin’s hand flew towards the candy, popping a piece in his mouth before Yedam could stop him but it did earn him a swat of the younger’s hand on his thigh, causing more giggles to fall from his mouth. Returning to his original position of laying his head on Yedam’s shoulder, Jeongin threw his arm across the other’s stomach, curling into Yedam even more and nuzzling into his neck. It wasn’t unusual for them to be this affectionate and touchy; hell, people who knew them would have thought it was weird if they weren’t hanging out of each other. That’s the way they had always been since they met on their first day of preschool when they were three years old. Growing up together, all the old ladies would coo and pinch their cheeks, saying it was so adorable the way they were always attached at the hip. They attended school together throughout the years, did after school activities, completed their homework into the late hours of the night, spent every single second that they could together simply because there was nowhere else they would rather be. This was normality but the meaning behind some of it had changed for Yedam recently.  _

_ Pulling Jeongin towards him and resting his cheek upon the mop of black hair as ‘A whole new world’ played in the background, Yedam began to think about when his feelings started to change from platonic into something more. Not knowing what to do, Yedam had pushed down and repressed said emotions for months and though it was killing him inside, he would never be able to live his life without Jeongin in it if the other didn’t reciprocate. But sometimes, in moments like this when Jeongin was breathing lightly against his neck, holding him close and being completely at peace, Yedam thought that maybe the elder felt the same thing as he did. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking.  _

_ But Yedam couldn’t keep it in anymore. It was too painful to keep pretending; he just had to take the chance. He had seen enough movies and read enough books to know that suppressing such feelings would end up coming back to bite him. So, he was going to do what his mind was screaming at him not to. _

_ “Jeonginnie?” Yedam called, almost hoping that Jeongin had already fallen asleep because of his cowardice but unfortunately, he got a sleepy hum in response. “Can I tell you something?”  _

_ “Sure, Yedam. You can always talk to me about anything, you know that,” the elder garbled, obviously on the precipice of slumber but holding back to listen to what Yedam had called out to him for.  _

_ If he was going to do this, then Yedam was going to do this right. Though he didn’t want to disturb Jeongin, Yedam began to sit upright and position himself on his knees as he looked at Jeongin beginning to whine at the loss of his human teddy bear and the warmth that he brought him.  _

_ “Ok, Jeongin. I want you to know that you are my best friend in the entire world. I couldn’t even begin to think about you not being there for me.”  _

_ With a slight look of fear in his eyes, Jeongin began to join Yedam sitting up on the bed, wondering why the younger would ever have to think about Jeongin not being beside him when they had made a promise to each other that they would never leave one another.  _

_ “And you’re my best friend, Yedam. Hey, why are you getting upset?”  _

_ It was only when Jeongin’s hands encapsulated his own did Yedam realise that tears were beginning to fall upon their interlaced fingers. He had told himself to be strong, not to make Jeongin feel guilty about all of this but that had apparently gone down the drain.  _

_ “I don’t want you to leave me,” Yedam sobbed, not being able to dry his tears when Jeongin was holding onto his hands for dear life.  _

_ “Never, Yedamie. You don’t ever have to worry about that. Come here,” Jeongin consoled, beckoning Yedam into his arms and squeezing the other’s shoulders to stop him from shaking. “What’s prompted this?  _

_ “No matter what, you won’t leave?”  _

_ “Yedam,” Jeongin scolded slightly as he pulled back and dabbed at the younger’s cheeks, trying to eliminate the tears still falling.  _

_ “I love you so much. I have for such a long time and it’s been killing me not saying anything. The time we spend together is something I wouldn’t trade for the world but I can’t keep going and pretending that it means the same thing to me as it does for you.”  _

_ The tension that Yedam expected to feel in the room never came, Jeongin simply sitting in front of him with a face that made him feel that maybe he hadn’t made a fool out of himself like he had first believed.  _

_ “You love me? Really? I assume I’m interpreting it correctly when you mean not just as a friend?” _

_ All Yedam could do was nod his head, raising it to lock eyes with Jeongin when his tone held, what Yedam was sincerely praying was hope.  _

_ “Finally. It’s about time. I was wondering when you were going to tell me.”  _

_ “What?”  _

_ “I’ve had an inkling that you’ve had feelings for me for a while. I didn’t want to rush you since you seemed to be debating with yourself and whether or not you wanted to do something about it.”  _

_ “You knew?! You knew and you never said anything?! I’ve been agonising over how to tell you for so long and you-” _

_ Yedam could have kept angrily rambling for much longer but then again, when Jeongin’s lips crashed onto his instead, he surrendered and decided that this was by far the better option. Admittedly, it was kind of gross with all of his tears falling onto his lips as Jeongin continually pecked them with a delicate smile on his own but Yedam wasn’t going to tell him to stop when he had literally been dreaming about this moment for so many weeks.  _

_ “That was even better than I expected. Maybe the time we spend together means the same for both of us. Been wanting to do that for ages,” Jeongin breathed, seemingly moving forwards to continue kissing Yedam’s awaiting lips before a knock came upon the door.  _

_ An answer was apparently not needed when the person on the other side entered, letting the door slam off of the wall and making both Jeongin and Yedam wince when they were sure that they heard a crack.  _

_ “Mom wants to talk to you about something downstairs.” _

_ Trying his best to hide his obviously very flushed cheeks because of what he had just been doing with Jeongin, Yedam was looking everywhere but at his friend’s older brother who didn’t even seem to be paying any attention to either of them, eyes firmly set on the phone in his hands.  _

_ “What does she want?” Jeongin complained, moreso because of how his brother had barged into his room without permission than anything else. _

_ “How should I know? Go and see for yourself,” Seojun spat, mumbling something about how he wasn’t the go between for him and their mother.  _

_ “Jeez, fine.” _

_ Jeongin leaned down to kiss Yedam’s cheek when they assumed Seojun wasn’t looking, though that didn’t seem to be the case when the older boy raised an eyebrow at the action before his face returned to the annoyed scowl he had previously been wearing.  _

_ “Don’t know why you’ve been acting like such a moody pain in the ass lately but it’s getting real old, real fast,” grumbled Jeongin, dodging Seojun’s swing and leaping down the stairs two at a time.  _

_ As soon as Jeongin had left the room, there was an unimaginable strain between Yedam and Seojun and it wasn’t because it was obvious that Yedam was now dating his younger brother.  _

_ It had come to light a few weeks ago, when Yedam had gone to Jeongin’s house to help the elder study for his first year college exams, that something had changed with Seojun, something that probably wasn’t overly obvious to anyone who wasn’t familiar with the Shadow world. Even though he wasn’t well versed in a lot of things, Yedam knew what it looked like when someone was experiencing going through the change. He had heard about how Seojun was acting ‘extremely pissy’ lately according to Jeongin, how he had been disappearing late at night, much to his parents' chagrin, how he had fallen ill with a fever three times over the past three weeks and Yedam knew that sounded an awful lot like the case studies he had been given as a child by his grandfather to analyse.  _

_ When Jeongin had gone to get them food, Yedam had run to Seojun’s room, begging the elder to let him in so that they could talk. He would, of course, have to confirm his theory before he gave anything else away since the Clave would come for him if he was incorrect but it didn’t take all that long in the end.  _

_ Not getting an answer, Yedam had let himself in, discovering Seojun shirtless as he swung around, revealing the still raw scratch mark right across his torso. Seojun had screamed at him to get out, covering himself up before Yedam had began asking him if he was feeling unwell. If he was waking up in places he couldn’t remember getting to. If he was getting irritated at every little thing even though it shouldn’t annoy him. If he had been scratched by a stray dog or something similar. When Seojun had frozen at the questions, Yedam knew that he had hit the nail on the head and Seojun had come into contact with a Werewolf who had, knowing or perhaps unknowingly, turned him into one too. Falling into Yedam’s arms, Seojun couldn’t help but break down, finally knowing that he wasn’t going crazy, that he didn’t have to go through this alone anymore.  _

_ It had taken a lot of convincing, books and studies to show Seojun what it was that happened to him. Of course, he had called Yedam insane in the beginning but too much of what he was saying made sense. When he had come to some sort of acceptance, Yedam told him about the Clave and how he needed to report what had happened. That had not ended well, with Yedam being pushed up against the wall by Seojun before the older boy backed away with apologies, begging him to keep it a secret, at least for now and even though Yedam knew he should report a newly turned Werewolf to the people who could assist him, Seojun was his friend too and he was going to try and help him as much as he could before Seojun was ready to come forwards.  _

_ That was over three weeks ago and as much as Yedam had done for him, Seojun was only getting more angry and disturbed, so much so that Yedam was just about done with trying to help him.  _

_ “Seojun, how are you getting on with those books I gave to you? Did they help you understand anything?”  _

_ “Didn’t read them,” Seojun retorted, fingers repeatedly tapping on the screen of his phone.  _

_ Biting his lip with such force, Yedam tried his best not to match the elder’s resentment but he had been holding back on his exasperation for far too long now and it was already at breaking point.  _

_ “Alright, that’s it. I’ve tried my best to help you through this, Seojun but there is only so much that I can do. I’m afraid you’ll end up hurting yourself or someone else and I am not going to be responsible for that. I’m contacting the Clave tonight and I’m telling them-” _

_ Yedam was telling the Clave nothing because the astonishing outrage that flowed from Seojun as he pinned him to the bed made every bit of courage he had within himself evaporate into the warm evening air.  _

_ “You tell anyone about me, Yedam and you will regret it. You ruin my life with some stupid institution who will try to lock me up forever and I will ruin yours by taking everyone you love away from you. Do you understand me?”  _

_ Trying to keep eye contact with Seojun and ignore the black ears and pointed canines that had sprouted, Yedam opened his mouth to say that he more than understood but the ruby irises that were staring back at him made Yedam feel more than a little fearful for his life and nothing but croaking sounds came out. This was not the Seojun he knew. The elder boy had always been kind and caring, treating Yedam like his little brother too. He was someone that Yedam knew he could come to if he ever needed help but now…  _

_ Seojun was losing control increasingly quickly but when light footsteps were heard upon the wooden stairs, Seojun bounced back hiding his ears with his hood and closing his mouth to mask his fangs. Two seconds later, Jeongin entered the room with a blinding smile but halted when he noticed that neither of the other boys in the room would look at him.  _

_ “What’s wrong?” Jeongin asked, getting nothing but a grunt from Seojun who left the room, giving one last look towards Yedam before turning the corner.  _

_ Trying his best to seem composed, Yedam threw open his arms, practically begging Jeongin to come and join him on the bed. It seemed to work as Jeongin ran towards him, placing their lips together once more but it didn’t last long as he pulled back to hold Yedam’s hands.  _

_ “Maybe this is a little backwards but would you be interested in being my boyfriend, Bang Yedam?”  _

_ With the bed creaking beneath them, Yedam gently pecked Jeongin’s lips, his answer more or less being conveyed through that small action alone.  _

_ “I’m all yours, Jeonginnie.”  _

_ “Hey, are you sure you’re alright?”  _

_ No, he wasn’t. Seojun was a Werewolf. He was incredibly unstable at the moment. He had just threatened him and his family. He was going to end up hurting someone and he couldn’t do anything about it. Yedam was not alright.  _

_ “Yeah, I’m fine. As much as I like kissing you, do you think we could just cuddle or something for a little while?”  _

_ It was a poor distraction but it was all that he had at the moment and it seemed that Jeongin was more than willing to oblige. Letting himself be pulled onto Jeongin’s chest, Yedam smiled when he felt the other’s lips upon his hair, hoping that Jeongin couldn’t feel how fast his heart was beating or at least hoping that he thought it was because of how affectionate he was being, not because of how his brother nearly ripped Yedam’s throat out.  _

_ “Go to sleep, Yedamie. We’ll talk more in the morning. Love you.”  _

_ Yedam was not going to be getting any sleep tonight, not when he had so many terrifying thoughts running through his head. All of the possibilities of what could happen if he didn’t report Seojun were causing a migraine to form but for now, all he wanted to do was savour Jeongin’s arms around him. Hopefully, more inspired solutions would come to him tomorrow. _

_ “Love you too, Jeongin.”  _

* * *

_ It had been six weeks since that last incident and Yedam prayed to every deity out there every single night that Seojun would manage to control his wolf even a fraction better than he had on that evening he had been threatened. Yedam so badly wanted to report him to the Clave or, better yet, the Praetor Lupus since it was their job to take care of newly turned Downworlders but as he sat at the table with his mother, father and baby sister, he just couldn’t begin to think about what Seojun might do to them it he spilled his secret.  _

_ On a positive note, his time with Jeongin now that they were officially dating was indescribable. They had been even more affectionate with each other, had been squeezed to death by both of their parents when they had heard their wonderful news and Yedam would admit that the added kisses he received now were definitely a perk.  _

_ Tonight, however, he was on his own. It was Jeongin’s mother’s birthday and they always had a family tradition of having a meal together with just the four of them. Of course, Jeongin’s mother had invited Yedam along but he politely declined, saying that he actually had a lot of coursework to catch up on but the real reason was that he didn’t want to intrude upon their family time. It had nothing to do with the fact that he also wanted to avoid Seojun like the plague.  _

_ That’s why, when Yedam’s phone started buzzing on his desk and Jeongin’s name popped up on the screen, he began to wonder why he was calling him at this time. Surely they weren’t home yet and even if they were, Yedam specifically said that he would meet up with Jeongin the following day so that he could spend time with his family. Regardless, he would never pass up an opportunity to speak with his boyfriend.  _

_ “Can you really not go a few hours without talking to me? Do you miss me that much?” Yedam teased with a dramatic sigh but what he heard next made his heart freeze over with ice.  _

_ Horrific growls. Blood curdling screams. Something ripping that could only be akin to flesh. Jeongin’s beautiful voice hoarse while he begged for his life. A terrified shriek filling the air.  _

_ It had been a mistake not to report Seojun and when Yedam managed to focus back on reality as the sounds on the phone continued to come through, he looked out the window, seeing a perfectly round, blinding light in the sky.  _

_ A full moon.  _

_ No.  _

_ Not even putting shoes on, Yedam threw open the front door, using his phone to locate Jeongin’s, thankful that he had set up the ability to do that since the younger was always losing his cell. He had never run so fast in his life, all the time praying and begging that he was not too late. That he had not just inadvertently killed his best friend and the only boy he had ever loved with his silence.  _

_ With his phone pinging in his hand, Yedam noticed the location was an alleyway beside the restaurant that Jeongin and his family had gone to for the night but as quick as the address came up, it vanished, meaning that the phone had died or was turned off. For what reason, Yedam didn’t want to think about, only increasing his speed and ignoring the way the gravel and other assorted objects found on the streets were scraping up his feet.  _

_ It took him no less than seven minutes to get there but he was not the first to arrive. The place was already sectioned off with police tape, the horrid yellow ‘caution: no entry’ scrawled across it making Yedam sick to his stomach. He could read, he knew what it said but that didn’t stop him from advancing through the small crowd that had formed towards the barrier where he was stopped by a burly police officer, a strange shade of green covering his face.  _

_ “Kid, please step back. Civilians cannot go past this point.” _

_ The man’s words meant nothing to him as two other police officers parted in front of him, showing two bodies that were beginning to be covered with sheets, announcing their untimely deaths but not before Yedam got a look at their faces. Chunks of flesh ripped from their bones, claw marks disfiguring their faces, blood cascading down the walls all around them and that’s what made Yedam snap and leap over the barrier, only to be restrained by a pair of strong arms. _

_ “Hey! Didn’t you hear me, kid? No civilians-” _

_ “Please! Those are my boyfriend’s parents! What happened?! Please, tell me!” _

_ It was a idiotic question for him to ask, really. Yedam already knew exactly what had happened but his fear addled brain needed to hear it from someone else. Even as he struggled in the officer’s hold, he could see no sign of Jeongin and he wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good thing or not.  _

_ “Calm down, calm down. You’re going to make yourself sick. Here, come with me,” the man urged, pulling on Yedam’s hand to lead him towards a chair in front of the nearby restaurant.  _

_ It felt wrong, leaving Jeongin’s parents like that, in the cold dark alleyway, being poked and prodded by strangers who were trying to deduce which of their injuries had killed them.  _

_ I _ _ t was then that Yedam saw them inspecting something else.  _

_ A black wolf.  _

_ Seemingly dead. Throat practically ripped right out. Blood pooling beneath its mouth.  _

_ Yedam felt like he was going to drop right on the spot. Luckily, the man supporting him seemed to notice and grabbed his shoulder to steady him before lowering him down.  _

_ “You shouldn’t have had to see that, kid. No one should. I’ve been on this job for over ten years and I’ve never encountered anything like it. My name is Hongki. Here, have a piece of chocolate. You need to get your blood sugar up. You’re in shock.” _

_ Thinking he wouldn’t be able to stomach it but thankfully taking the candy from the officer all the same, Yedam popped a piece into his mouth, thinking about the last time he had this candy, lying on Jeongin’s bed, more than content with the moment but he feared he would never find that happiness again.  _

_ “Look,” the officer began, placing another piece of chocolate into Yedam’s hand, “I really shouldn’t be telling you this but I can see that you obviously cared for them. It seems like some wild animal managed to make its way into town and attacked these poor people. Two lives lost because of some freak accident.”  _

_ It wasn’t a freak accident. Yedam knew that for a fact. It was something that was bound to happen sooner or later and he absolutely despised that he knew that and still did nothing. He had lost some of the most important people in his life because of his idleness and there was nothing he could do to bring them back.  _

_ Wait.  _

_ Only two?  _

_ “Wasn’t there another person with them? A boy about the same age as me?” _

_ “Huh? No, there was nobody else here. Just the two that are being examined,” Hongki said perplexed.  _

_ “Really? You didn’t find anything like a phone lying around, did you?”  _

_ “Just what was in the victims’ bags. Why are you asking this? Do you know something?” _

_ Yedam knew far too much but every detail that he did couldn’t be relayed to this officer who had left Yedam with more questions than answers. Jeongin wasn’t here. Apparently, he had never been according to the police.  _

_ The news reports never mentioned him with regards to the incident either. Nor Seojun. Just that the two boys of the Yang family had disappeared after the horrific deaths of their parents. Everyone suspected that something sinister was going on but as time went by, people stopped suspecting, stopped thinking about them all together. None of it made sense but after a while, things started to return to normal.  _

_ For most people. _

_ Seojun had threatened Yedam’s family should he tell anyone of his secret. Yedam never could have guessed that by keeping his mouth shut, Jeongin’s parents would instead suffer the fate that he had tried to save his own family from.  _

* * *

“Maybe it was denial or something but I couldn’t believe that Jeongin was dead when nothing had been found of him at the scene. I heard him on the other end of the phone that night, asking his brother not to kill him in such a terrified voice, so I knew he was there. He didn’t just vanish into thin air.” 

No, he hadn’t vanished. He was now a part of Chan’s pack, that whole mess of a night ensuring that Jeongin could never return to the life he once held. 

“I didn’t know how else to possibly find him except with the help of a Warlock. Let me tell you, he was surprised when a Mundane showed up at his door asking him to use a tracking spell on his boyfriend.” 

Yedam chuckled lightly but after telling his story, Chan knew that there was absolutely no humour behind the laugh; it was there to mask his pain. 

“He asked for payment up front but since I didn’t have enough, I had to work for a while and scrape together my savings, which is why it took me so long to get here.” 

It almost sounded like Yedam was apologising to Chan for not getting here sooner but it hardly made any difference to the alpha when he was never expecting a friend...or boyfriend of Jeongin’s to show up in the first place.

“When I did manage to get enough, he told me that he was in Seoul but he wouldn’t give me the exact location since my fee didn’t cover that. Yeah, he was kind of an asshole.” 

Not every Warlock was as forthcoming as Minho was when it came to offering help; Chan was very much aware of that. Seemed like Yedam just happened to stumble across one of these Warlocks in his search to find his best friend. 

“But when I heard that he was actually alive, I’ve never felt such relief. Still, when I went searching for him, I didn’t expect to be attacked by a Rahab demon, let alone saved by the person I was searching for,” Yedam breathed, coming to the end of his lengthy tale. “When I saw the ears on his head and how he attacked the demon, I knew that he didn’t get away from his brother’s attack unscathed. I wanted to hold him so badly but he looked a little spooked that I was there. Understandably so, I guess and then, he took off. But that pretty much brings you up to speed on my perspective. How about yours?”

It wasn’t a demand, more like a plea. There were obviously a lot of things that Yedam was still in the dark about and it was more than clear that he was hoping that Chan would fill in the blanks for him. 

“I don’t really have to tell you anything.” 

Shocked eyes stared back at him since Yedam seemed to think that, since he had been so honest, Chan would extend the same courtesy towards him. And even though it was Chan’s plan to keep things to himself, it was the resignation in Yedam’s eyes that made the alpha rethink his hardened exterior, tutting loudly before clasping his hands together. 

“I was visiting a friend of mine in Busan. His name is Daniel and he’s a Werewolf too. We were walking around the city when both of us smelled an out of control wolf, its scent not familiar to Daniel, even though he is one of the only alphas in that area. Then, we heard the screams,” Chan faltered, beginning to relive the night that he had met Jeongin for the first time. 

Nothing in the entire world would prepare him for what he found. Two mutilated bodies no longer possibly holding any blood with the amount that was scattered around them. A jet black, rogue Werewolf, obviously the perpetrator of this vicious crime. A young boy with a jagged bite mark sprawled across his neck, barely on the brink of consciousness as the wolf drew closer to its prey to complete its mission in annihilating those around it. It was unlike anything Chan had ever encountered and the look on Daniel’s face as he stood beside him told him that he was of the same mindset. 

“I tried talking the wolf down but he was too far gone, his rage almost palpable as I stepped towards him to try and placate him. Even my alpha tone didn’t work on him. In the end, I had to shift and take him down. He was running towards Jeongin but I caught him at the last second and tore out his throat,” Chan whispered, hating how weak his voice sounded in this moment. 

He had never wanted to kill the Werewolf but both he and Daniel knew it had to be done in the moment. When a wolf has been consumed by the primal part of themselves, there was very little chance of turning them back, especially when they didn’t have their own alpha to answer to. Chan did it so that Daniel didn’t have to and in a way, he couldn’t regret doing it because, if he hadn’t, Jeongin would most certainly not be here today. 

“So, it was you who killed Seojun. I’m sorry you had to do that,” lamented Yedam, the silent ‘this whole thing is my fault’ being hidden beneath his other words. 

“I didn’t know it was Jeongin’s brother until we got this whole mess sorted out and he told me how his brother had gotten into a fight with his parents on the way home, how he had shifted into a monster and how he had watched him kill their parents without any remorse before turning on him. The fact that there was a full moon that night certainly didn’t help either.” 

When he had cradled Jeongin in his arms after gaining his trust back at their home, Chan had to try with all his might not to break down as he held a shattered boy with no light in his eyes in his arms, wailing at how his family was no longer by his side. 

“Daniel told me that it would be best for me to take Jeongin out of Busan, at least until things regarding what happened died down a bit. The Mundanes couldn’t know what happened to him and of course, I wasn’t going to leave a poor pup like him who had been attacked and turned against his will on his own. I took him in and he’s been here ever since. I never hid anything from him either. He knows pretty much everything that happened. Well, from my point of view anyways.” 

That seemed to hit Yedam hard, his secrecy being targeted by Chan once again and even if he knew it was unfair, the alpha within him couldn’t help but constantly focus in on how his pup could have been saved so much pain if his mate had spoken up. 

“So, where do we go from here?” Yedam gulped, fearful of how Chan would see fit to deal with this mess. 

“What are you expecting to happen, Yedam?” 

“I…I want to see him. To make sure he’s ok. I barely got a look at him the last time and I-”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Chan almost snapped. “I told him to leave his life behind. It’s the only way he’ll manage to come to terms with what he is and how it happened. All of the work he’s put in so far could be destroyed if you come back into his life. You could set him back months.”   


“I don’t care!” 

Putting the young wolf in his care in danger, be it substantial or not, was not an option for Chan and when Yedam so blatantly went against his wishes, his alpha bared his fangs at the young man, causing him to sit back down after he had risen to try and make himself look bigger in the situation, even though Chan was sure he felt very small right now. 

“Of course you don’t because you only care about yourself!” 

Chan really was getting too worked up over this, made increasingly clear by the way Yedam’s eyes suddenly started to tear up, though it seemed that the younger was trying with all his might not to let them fall. Reminding himself that Yedam was even younger than Jeongin and already beating himself up about everything that had happened, Chan exhaled through clenched teeth and continued. 

“In the end, this is not my decision to make,” the alpha stated strongly. “I’ll speak with Jeongin about this and once he knows about everything that happened, then he can decide if he wants to see you again.”

“Wait! You’re going to tell him everything? No! You can’t! He’ll never want to speak to me again,” Yedam pled, reaching out to grab Chan’s arm as the other was walking away but stopped short when the elder turned to look at him. 

“Think of that as your penance then.”

“Chan!”   


Once again, Chan stopped in his tracks, this time turning fully to stare at Yedam, urging him to say what he needed to before he walked out the door. 

“Please. Don’t take him away from me again. I’ve worked so hard to try and find him and just when I think that I have him back…”

Chan was telling himself not to break. His soft heart had gotten him into trouble before, too much pain came along with it and he would not let himself be led astray by tear filled eyes holding a silent appeal. 

“Wasn’t there ever someone that you loved more than anything? That you would do absolutely anything for? That you would swim across the ocean to see them? That you would pick the stars out of the sky if they asked you to? Because that’s what Jeongin means to me. Don’t you understand what that's like?”

“Not anymore,” Chan whispered so lowly that he hoped Yedam couldn’t hear him. “Like I said, once Jeongin knows everything, he can decide. Thanks for speaking with me, Yedam.”

That’s where their conversation ended, with Yedam’s sniffles being the last thing that Chan heard as he closed the door behind him. He was too harsh on the young man he had just left standing in the middle of his living room but when it came to his family, Chan’s alpha took the reigns on his heart and his head. Though, he wasn’t lying when he said that he would give Jeongin the choice. Should the younger Werewolf wish to see Yedam again, then he wouldn’t stop him but he would certainly keep an eye on both of them. 

Letting the pouring rain dampen his silver curls as he traversed down the sidewalk, all Chan could think about was that he was most certainly not looking forward to the conversation that was awaiting him once he walked through the door of his home. This was indeed going to be one hell of a long night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Yedam and I am super excited for him to finally debut in Treasure. Chan might be being unfair to him but we all know he's a good dad. Must always protect Jeongin from any possible threat. Alright then, see you next week!


	22. Gaiety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I thought that I would update a little bit earlier this week since it's a special day for me just like it is for Seungmin in this chapter and I may not have the chance over the next couple of days. For this one, it's just fluff. I think. Happiness with hints of Seungjin. I hope you guys like it!

Seungmin had been staring at the same page of the book he had been studying for the last fifteen minutes, his concentration abysmal as his thoughts ran wild. The application of his new rune was scheduled to begin in an hour and since the others were busy doing their own thing, Seungmin told Jisung that he would go to the Institute library for a while and try to get some reading in. 

He had made a rather unsettling discovery recently when Woojin told him that it wasn’t enough to simply be a good fighter to become a Shadowhunter but that Seungmin had to be well versed in Shadowhunter lore as well as on pertinent information about Downworlders, demons and anything else he may come into contact with when out on missions or patrols. Being told that he would eventually be assessed on his knowledge through a test made the inner child of Seungmin whine, thinking that he would never have to deal with school or tests again. Sadly, he was wrong. 

While he had gone to the library to study, not that any of that was happening at the moment, in a way, he just wanted somewhere quiet to go and be alone after what had occurred last night. 

After he had come out of the room with Minho, Areum had immediately run up to them with an optimistic glint in her eye, her silent curiosity wondering how the unblocking had gone. The promise not to tell anyone about what Minho had discovered echoed in Seungmin’s ears, the young man staying completely mute and looking to Minho for an explanation. 

The way Areum’s face had fallen when Minho told her that there was no block to be found on Seungmin’s memories made the youngest’s heart break. It wasn’t hard to understand why he had to keep what they had found out a secret and Seungmin trusted Minho when the Warlock had said he would put everything aside to find out what his mentor had to do with his sealed consciousness but Seungmin wanted to tell Areum so badly about what they discovered too, especially when the woman wrapped her arms around him and promised him that they would always be here for him, that they would show him the life he once knew and help him build a new one too.

It’s what Seungmin had told the rest of his friends when they had all met up in the dining hall, their encouraging smiles reverberating Areum’s earlier sentiments. It felt wrong, lying to them like this when they had been so open about themselves and their world. 

It was also what he had told Hyunjin during their phone call later on that night. All Seungmin had wanted to do was to curl up in bed and drift off to sleep since he felt like he had run a marathon and then some. But it was useless, the young Shadowhunter tossing and turning until he realised that he had promised Hyunjin that he would call him after he was finished with Minho and maybe that this was the reason that he couldn’t get some shut eye despite feeling unbelievably weary. 

It only took two rings for the Vampire to answer his phone. 

“Hey, cutie. I was beginning to think you had forgotten all about me,” Hyunjin purred through the phone, making Seungmin flop back onto his pillow with a flustered grin, already beginning to feel more at ease. “Well, to be honest, I was more worried that something had gone wrong with Minho. I was sitting here sharpening my fangs in case he did something to you.”   


Maybe Minho had a point when he mentioned that Hyunjin was awfully territorial over a boy he had only gone on one date with. Not that Seungmin minded. It was a whole new discovery to him to have someone fawn over him and want to protect him in such a way. 

“No, nothing went wrong,” Seungmin lied through his teeth. “There was nothing to be found, unfortunately. No block, just my empty head, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, no. Minnie, I’m so sorry,” Hyunjin comforted, even though the thing Seungmin was upset about was not that he had no memories but that someone that he had known and apparently trusted had created a barrier around them so that he could not access what he wished to see most. 

“Don’t worry, Hyunjin. It’s not a big deal. Instead of looking backwards at my past, I just have to look forwards to the future. With Jisung, Changbin and Woojin. With Areum and Minho. With you.” 

It was a sneaky diversion tactic that he was using with the Vampire, trying to make him swoon so that he wouldn’t ask any more invasive questions about what he had gone through with Minho. 

And strangely, it hurt. Not in a ‘feeling guilty about lying to your new boyfriend’ kind of way but an actual physical throb that reverberated in his chest when the fib left his lips. It worried Seungmin slightly as he clutched the front of his pyjamas, beginning to breathe more rapidly with a little groan that he hoped the Vampire on opposite end of the line couldn’t hear but his anxiety slowly faded when Hyunjin continued to speak. 

“Well, well, well. Kim Seungmin can be flirty when he wants to be. How will my heart be able to take this constant seduction?” 

“I don’t think you have to worry about that when your heart isn’t beating,” Seungmin joked but wondered if he had maybe gotten a little ahead of himself when jesting about the state of Hyunjin’s mortality. 

“Jeez, maybe not but I still have feelings, Minnie!” 

They continued speaking for another forty minutes, about things like their next date and also about nothing in particular. Hyunjin had told Seungmin that he didn’t have to worry about anything when it came to deciding the destination for their next outing; he had it all taken care of. This both excited and slightly terrified Seungmin but he was sure that he would be experiencing far more ghastly things in the future than a mysterious date. 

With a promise that he would meet Seungmin in his dreams, Hyunjin made an overexaggerated kissing noise before laughing and hanging up the phone, not giving Seungmin time to come up with a witty response. Maybe it really was that he had almost forgotten to call Hyunjin that sleep had evaded him or maybe it was because the Vampire had put his mind at ease but either way, as soon as Seungmin placed his phone on his bedside table, he was out like a light, no longer agonising over the possibilities that could come true in the near future. 

A fluffy and very foreign feeling brushed up against Seungmin’s leg, dragging him out of his thoughts and forcing him to face reality once more. The sensation would have made him jump if it weren’t for the fact that Jisung’s presence was what nearly made him leap out of his skin, Seungmin never realising the other young man had taken a seat straight across from him and was staring at him intently. 

“You know, I’ve been here for the last five minutes, wondering when you were going to finally notice me but it seems your mind was on something else. What, oh, what could that have been?” Jisung gibed, bending down to pick up Bomi and place her on his lap, alerting Seungmin to what had been rubbing against his shin earlier on. 

“Nothing, Sung. I was just reading.”

“There is no way that any book would make someone concentrate that hard,” Jisung insisted as he rubbed his nose against Bomi’s, earning himself a loud purr that made other people in the library turn towards their table and shush the noisy feline. “Are you nervous about getting your rune later?” 

Seungmin had discussed it briefly with Woojin earlier on in the day, debating which of the many runes that he should get since he was now a Shadowhunter in training. Since he had read some of the book that Jisung had given him for Christmas, Seungmin suggested the Power rune and Stealth rune to Woojin, wanting to see how he could increase his strength and be more sneaky in a fight but the Institute head wondered if perhaps the Stamina rune would be more suitable for him since it would allow Seungmin to last longer in a fight should he ever encounter one. In the end, Seungmin trusted Woojin’s instinct more than anything, deciding to agree with what he thought best.

“Yeah, that’s it, I guess. I think I’ve built it up too much in my head. Scaring myself more than anything,” Seungmin assured, scratching underneath Bomi’s chin and she layed on her back in the middle of the table. 

“There’s no need to be, Minnie. Woojin was top of his class in literally everything, including runic magic. You have nothing to worry about. Well, except maybe your second date with Hyunjinnie.”

Ah, yes, here it was. The good natured teasing he had heard about that came between friends, especially when it came to romantic relationships. Seungmin never had to endure this before but it was all part and package with this whole friends and family deal. 

“Come on then. Say what you want.”

It seemed that Jisung was going to go on the rampage with his words before a soft meow interrupted him, Bomi bumping the elder’s shoulder with what Seungmin could nearly pinpoint as annoyance, if animals could display such an emotion on their faces. 

“I’ve got nothing bad to say, Minnie. Just that it’s nice to see you so happy. Hyunjinnie too.”

From what Seungmin had observed of the Vampire, he just always assumed Hyunjin was bright and bubbly since he had never really seen him any other way but after Jisung’s vocalisation of his observation, he thought that maybe he was one of the reasons that Hyunjin had been acting in such a manner lately.

“Plus, you guys are going really fast. Calling each other boyfriends after only one date? Whew, that’s like lightning speed!” Jisung gasped, making an explosion around his head with his fingertips. 

“Hyunjin asked me if it was ok. I didn’t mind, so, why not?”

“Yeah, why not?” 

Rolling his eyes with obvious annoyance, Seungmin turned his attention back to the book in front of him, actually reading the text and absorbing the information. 

_ ‘Once a Werewolf claims a partner through a mating bite, they are tied to said partner for the rest of their lives, mentally and emotionally.’  _

Yes, Seungmin already knew all about that. It had been in his briefing packet along with the rest of the explanation on Woojin’s relationship with Chan. 

“Hey, if the two of you want it, then who am I to intrude?” Jisung bubbled, playing with his  _ stele  _ and twirling it around in his fingers. 

_ ‘If a Warlock should find someone to spend their life with, they may wish to share their life force with that person so that they may spend the remainder of their days together.’ _

Seungmin remembered Changbin and Jisung speaking about that too when he had first been introduced to Minho, the Warlock not having any iota about giving up half of his life force for someone else. 

“Have you gone back to ignoring me again, Minnie? That’s real cruel, huh, Bomi? You still love me, right?” 

Jisung’s voice became background noise as Seungmin continued to traverse through the gargantuan book he had randomly picked up on Downworlders and the bonds they create. Flipping onto the next page with a bold heading of  _ ‘Mythology’ _ , which made Seungmin snort since most of what was in this book  _ would  _ be considered mythology by the vast majority of earth’s population, he couldn’t help but focus in on one specific paragraph. 

_ ‘In the early 1100’s, there were claims that a Downworlder had found their soulmate. But since there has never been an official recorded case, this has been debunked as a rumor and all of them since warranted as baseless conjecture.’  _

“Yes, you love me, beautiful girl and I love y-”

“Hey, Sungie. What does this mean?”

“Hmm?” 

Jisung turned his attention towards Seungmin and the book that the younger had flipped around to face the young man who was still holding Bomi above his head like some weird rendition of the opening scene of The Lion King. It took a second for Jisung to actually focus in on what Seungmin was inquiring about before sitting back with a quiet sigh. 

“It’s just a legend, Minnie. It’s not really important to know about. There are far more interesting things in there.”

“Huh, you guys have legends too? Tell me anyways,” Seungmin encouraged, clasping his hands together as he silently waited for an explanation. 

“Well, in Downworlder legend, it is said that there are people out there, whose soul has not been touched by sin, that are tied to those who have been corrupted by the darkness. For instance, since it is said that Vampire’s souls are ‘damned’” Jisung huffed with a roll of his eyes, “the people joined with them, their soulmates, can lighten their soul and complete them in a way. For Werewolves, there is the idea of perfect mates that are drawn together by fate.” 

While Seungmin was sure that a lot of people believed in the idea of soulmates, with Shadowhunters even having the _ Parabatai  _ rune to join people as lifelong partners, this seemed different. It wasn’t just the idea that two people simply fit each other well with regards to their personalities but that a Downworlder and their soulmate were truly predestined to find each other; two halves making an absolute whole. 

“But like I said,” Jisung began as he closed the book, “It isn’t real. Out of all the crazy things that you have to believe in this world, Minnie, don’t concern yourself with things that won’t make any difference to you. You won’t be tested on it either.” 

Even if it didn’t directly affect him, Seungmin found it awfully fascinating and was willing to soak up any information that he could, especially when it came to Vampires and it was something that he could possibly talk to Hyunjin about. Maybe he also thought he could impress the immortal young man with his knowledge the next time around.

“Please don’t turn into a nerd on me, Minnie. Come on, let’s go get some food or something before you have to get your rune done,” whined Jisung, Bomi mirroring his cry with one of her own, making Seungmin’s resolve crumble very quickly when they were once again getting annoyed looks from the other visitors in the library. 

“Ok, ok. Can we maybe get out of here for a little while? To a coffee shop or something? I’ll pay.” 

“You had me at ‘I’ll pay.’”

“That was literally the very last thing I said, Sung,” laughed Seungmin, pushing his chair underneath the table and returning his book to the shelf on which he found it but made a mental note to remember exactly where that particular one was. He wanted to come back and peruse its contents again, preferably when Jisung wasn’t being a whiny minx trying to hog his attention. 

* * *

When Seungmin had eventually returned to the Institute with Jisung after a relaxing mug of chamomile tea as Jisung spoke about anything and everything, they still had another ten minutes before he had to report to Woojin’s office to obtain his ruin. The butterflies in his stomach felt like they were bouncing off of the walls rather than taking flight and Seungmin was doing his best to will the nausea back down so he didn’t projectile vomit all over Jisung who was walking in front of him before coming to a halt. 

“So, I kinda have a little surprise for you before we go in there.”

Seungmin had been warned. He had been warned by Changbin about Jisung’s ‘surprises’ and how, if Jisung ever said he had one for him, he should run as far and as fast as he could to shield himself from the pain that would undoubtedly come from it. Still, Seungmin was curious, increasingly so as the sparkle in Jisung’s eyes glistened even brighter while he bounced on his heels in excitement. 

“O…k, Sung. What is this surprise?” 

“Me.” 

Whatever Seungmin needed to improve within himself when it came to being a Shadowhunter, his reflexes were not on the top of the list. That’s why, when a husky voice brushed past his ear and startled him to another’s presence, Seungmin spun around and punched his fist out. Hard. 

“Oof!” 

“Oh my god! Hyunjin!”   


Jisung’s cackling echoed throughout the room when Hyunjin doubled over, clutching at his stomach, wheezing as Seungmin’s blow winded him enough to fall to his knees. 

“Damn, Minnie. You definitely don’t need the Power rune. You already pack one hell of a punch,” Hyunjin croaked, laughing at the way Seungmin’s hands were roaming his face, trying to make sure he was alright while apologising profusely. “No, no, my fault. I should have known not to sneak up on a Shadowhunter in training.”

“Eh, better the immortal Vampire getting hurt than the dainty Werewolf,” Jisung reasoned, hiking his thumb towards the door at the second figure who had entered the room.    


“Innie?” exclaimed Seungmin, gawking at a shyly waving Jeongin who was moving over to help Seungmin straighten Hyunjin up into a standing position. “Wait, why are the both of you here?”

“We came for your rune application. Jisung told us that Shadowhunters usually have friends and family at their ceremony for their initial rune and while this isn’t  _ technically _ your first one, it’s the beginning of your new life and he asked us to come!” Jeongin beamed, wrapping his arm around Seungmin’s, the redhead snickering at how clingy the Werewolf was, despite not spending a significant amount of time with him yet. 

Maybe Changbin was just paranoid from Jisung having messed with him too many times but Seungmin was pretty damn appreciative of how Jisung had thought about what would make him feel more at ease during the administration of his rune, having not only more friends beside him but his boyfriend too. There was a thought in the back of his head asking him if it was normal practice to have Downworlders at a Shadowhunter ceremony but then again, nothing about Seungmin’s circumstances were normal. 

“Really? Wow, Sungie, thank you.” 

“Not a problem, Minnie. I told you I’d take care of you,” Jisung hollered proudly as if he wanted those inside the rooms surrounding him to know that he could be compassionate and gracious when people deserved it. 

“Give us a minute?”

Waggling his eyebrows with thinly veiled obscene thoughts in his head, Jisung curtsied before Hyunjin, a sly ‘yes, sir’ being uttered as he strode into Woojin’s office. The undeniable need to smack the Shadowhunter over the back of the head for his obvious mockery overcame Hyunjin but he held back, as he always did. 

Looking back towards Seungmin who was still trying to make sure he was alright from his earlier attack, Hyunjin was about to begin speaking when he noticed that they were still three, not two as he had hoped, a young Werewolf still clutching to Seungmin’s arm with no signs of letting go. 

“Uh, Jeongin, I asked if I could have a minute alone with Seungmin.” 

It seemed that Seungmin hadn’t even been aware that Jeongin hadn’t followed Jisung into the room by the way he tugged his arm at the mention of the Werewolf’s name before smiling and ruffling his hair a little. Hyunjin’s eyebrow arched when he noticed Jeongin looking at him with a hint of dissatisfaction, as if he was asking who Hyunjin thought he was to try and separate him from his new companion. 

It took a minute for Hyunjin to remember that newly turned Werewolves were extremely needy when it came to being indulged and pampered with regards to touch and even more protective than an alpha would be over their pack when it came to those they cared about. Apparently, Jeongin was still caught up in that phase. 

“You can have your friend back in a minute, pup. I won’t keep him away from you for long.” 

The look of loathing in the youngest’s eyes increased tenfold with the term of endearment that came with a taunting tone and Jeongin did not like that one bit, tightening his grip on Seungmin’s bicep and scrunching up his nose at the Vampire. 

“Don’t call me that. Only Chan calls me that. Even though I don’t want him to. But you definitely don’t get to. I’m not a pup,” Jeongin warned, his cerulean eyes fading to purple and Hyunjin knew it was because of the crimson beginning to invade his irises as Jeongin’s anger grew. 

“Alright, alright. Today is an important day for me and I won’t have it marred by the both of you throwing down, understood?” 

Albeit reluctantly, Jeongin detached himself from the Shadowhunter, smiling sweetly at him with a little salute as he began to walk away but as soon as Seungmin had turned back around to face Hyunjin again, the Vampire looked over the other’s shoulder to see Jeongin glaring daggers at him, pointing at his own eyes before directing one back at Hyunjin, a warning if the Vampire ever saw one. 

“I don’t think he likes me very much. Damn, talk about possessive.” 

“Really, Hwang Hyunjin?” Seungmin objected with a teasing huff. “You’re going to criticise Jeongin for being possessive of me?  _ You _ ? Out of all people?” 

“Are you trying to suggest that I’m possessive, Minnie?” 

“I’m not suggesting it, I’m inferring it,” avowed Seungmin rather forcefully, snickering at the way Hyunjin wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him in close, pretty much confirming his conclusions. 

“You nervous?” 

Seungmin shrugged his shoulders a little at Hyunjin’s question, though his rapidly beating heart was probably betraying him. 

“I can tell that you are, your scent is a little stronger. You know there’s no need to be, right?” 

“Vampires can detect scent too? Like Werewolves?”

“Not technically,” Hyunjin hesitated. “Werewolves can detect an overall scent that your body gives out and is quite strong. Vampires just…smell your blood.” 

This was a detail that apparently made Hyunjin think that Seungmin would find the idea repulsive, that he would inevitably pull back from the safe embrace but the notion never entered his head as he hugged the Vampire tighter.

“Oh, I see. What do I smell like?” inquired Seungmin, still nestled in the Vampire’s arms.

“Hmm, well, there’s a mixture of a few things. Lemon and peppermint, something I find awfully refreshing but there’s something like caramel underneath too, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I’m not like a Werewolf that can smell you from hundreds of feet away. I have to be right beside you to catch your scent, which is why I can’t get enough of being around you,” Hyunjin swooned, nuzzling into Seungmin’s neck and breathing in deeply and making the younger giggle loudly while shivering, trying to get the Vampire’s freezing nose away from his throat. 

“Well, it’s a good thing I smell nice. You do too though. Like roses and cotton candy.”

That made Hyunjin’s head snap up, looking at Seungmin as if he had revealed all of the secrets of the universe to him in what he just said. 

“Wait, you can smell me?” 

“Yeah? Why? Is that not a good thing?”

Hyunjin’s mouth attempted to form some sort of coherent sentence but the words which he sought were lost somewhere at the back of his mind. 

“It’s not a  _ bad  _ thing but it shouldn’t be a  _ thing  _ at all. Humans shouldn’t be able to pick up scents from Downworlders. I’m pretty sure only Vampires and Werewolves can and when it comes to someone like me, Werewolves say that we smell like death. Whatever that smell is, I don’t know but not good apparently.” 

Seungmin was waiting for Hyunjin to carry on with his explanation but it looked like he didn’t have one to give him. If anything, the Vampire was looking to Seungmin for him to give clarification on why this was occurring. 

“Well, like I said, you have a pleasant scent, so it’s not like it’s something that will interfere with us in any way, right?” 

“Right, right. To be honest, it’s nice that you think my scent makes me irresistible,” Hyunjin flirted, pressing his nose back into Seungmin’s pulse point. 

“I never said anything about you being irresistible.”   
  


Bottom lip jutting out and eyes scintillating oh so brightly, Seungmin couldn’t help but feel weak in Hyunjin’s presence, especially when he brought out the cutest pouty face that he couldn’t possibly withstand with such a powerless heart. Giving into his desires, Seungmin surged forwards, placing his lips upon the Vampire’s in such a brief kiss that it seemed to startle both of them into silence. 

“Sorry, that wasn’t…I didn’t mean to…oh, god, let’s just go,” Seungmin beseeched, trying to pull Hyunjin along but stumbled when his wrist was caught and he was brought back to his original position, mere centimeters away from the sinful, heart shaped lips that he had just indulged in. 

Seungmin couldn’t take his eyes off of them but it seemed to give Hyunjin the confidence to dive in, assuming this was what the younger wanted too when he joined their lips once more, this time, the kiss being shamelessly full and affectionate. The feeling of Hyunjin’s hands moving down to hold his hips caused Seungmin to close his eyes, his fingers ghosting around the taller’s neck and brushing off the two small scars on the side of his throat. Something went off in Seungmin’s mind, telling him that this was exactly where he was meant to be, in Hyunjin’s arms, being held close as a beautifully chaste kiss was being bestowed upon him. 

“Is your minute up? Are you rea- oh, god! My eyes! My eyes!” 

Pulling away at the screams of his friend, Seungmin covered his blushing cheeks with the back of his hand as Jisung continued to be theatrical in the doorway about their spontaneous make out session in the hallway. 

“Sung, pipe down,” Hyunjin complained, obviously not impressed that he had been interrupted in his intimate moment with Seungmin. 

“How fast are you guys moving. You’ll be married with three kids and a house in the suburbs by next week at this stage!”

“Calm down, Sung. It’s not like you caught us doing anything more…well,  _ more _ ,” Hyunjin emphasised with a subtle lift of his eyebrows. 

“If I had, I would have promptly clawed my eyes out, thank you.” 

Shaking his head with a smirk, Seungmin grabbed onto Hyunjin’s hand and led him towards the door where Jisung was still covering his eyes with the palms of his hands. 

“Don’t hate me because I’m getting some action and you’re not!” Hyunjin retaliated, sticking out his tongue and waiting for Jisung’s comeback. Which didn’t come. Just the young man scowling at him with his head hung low before he scoffed and walked back through the room from which he came. “What was that about?” 

With no answers to give him, Seungmin hunched his shoulders up but tightened the grip he had on the Vampire’s hand, a gesture to let him know that they would eventually pick up where they left off. 

“What was Jisung screaming about?” Changbin wondered out loud as the three of them finally joined them in Woojin’s office. 

“Nothing-”

“Don’t worry about it-”

“They were sucking face in the hallway.”

Being thankful that looks couldn’t kill with the way both Seungmin and Hyunjin glared at him, Jisung ran further into the room, hopping up on Woojin’s mahogany desk and making himself comfortable. 

“Alrighty, we’re just going to skip right past that. Cherry, are you ready for your rune?” Areum questioned with a loving smile. 

Seungmin could say that he was born ready because he actually was in this instance. He was born to be a Shadowhunter and this was his first step to officially becoming one. 

“Yep. Ready when you are,” Seungmin piped, finally letting go of Hyunjin’s hand and moving towards Woojin. 

“Alright, shirt off.” 

That’s when it hit him that maybe inviting so many people wasn’t the greatest idea that Jisung ever had. Woojin had already mentioned that the closer a rune is to your heart, the more effective it would be since runes draw off of the person’s energy to function. Between them, they had agreed that since a rune such as the Stamina one that he was receiving was so significant, that it would be placed between his shoulder blades, close enough to his heart but not on his chest in case Seungmin wished to place other runes there in the future. Now, with all eyes on him, he wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of baring all to everyone in the room. 

“Uh…you know, maybe we should change the location of the rune. Maybe-”

“Oh, come on, Minnie. You’re not getting shy on us, are you? Take it off and show us what nature gave you!” Jisung hollered, earning himself a whack on his thigh from Areum, a glare with a promise of death from Hyunjin and a low ringing growl from Jeongin. 

It was from those reactions that Seungmin realised that everyone in this room was someone he trusted, someone who wanted what was best for him, someone who wanted him to succeed in life and loved him with everything they had. They were all someone that he had lied to about the block on his mind too and though he felt ashamed about that, this was something that he shouldn’t be bashful about. 

Slipping his t-shirt over his head, someone who he could only assume to be Jisung wolf whistled in the distance before a pained ‘ouch!’ resounded throughout the air. He didn’t know who had disciplined him but he was thankful to them nonetheless. His physique wasn’t awful, perhaps a bit on the scrawny side compared to Changbin or Woojin but thanks to his training sessions with them over the past couple of weeks, he had gained some muscle and toned his body up a bit. 

With warm hands on his shoulders, Seungmin was turned around so that his back faced everyone, thankful that he didn’t have to show his face when the rune was being applied because, according to everyone he had talked to about them, getting one hurt and he was pretty sure that his pain threshold wasn’t all that high. 

“I’m going to begin, Minnie. Ok?” Woojin whispered, leaning close to his ear and placing a comforting hand between his shoulder blades where a rune would soon replace it. 

Seungmin braced his hands on the desk in front of him, feeling a cool sensation on his back, knowing it was the tip of Woojin’s  _ stele _ . He knew the cold was only temporary, that what came next would be why his friends warned him to have something to hold onto when the time for the administration of the rune. 

Boy, was it obvious when it all began. 

The newborn Shadowhunter clenched his teeth together, not able to suppress the tiny hiss that emptied out of his mouth nor the way the muscles in his back tightened when the ink was being burned into his skin. That was the only way he could describe this. It  _ burned _ . 

It was taking too long, way too long and Seungmin wasn’t sure how much longer he could take it without leaving permanent nail marks in the wood of Woojin’s desk. He tried with all his might not to conjure tears to his eyes but just as his resolve was about to break, one of his hands was lifted from the desk as fingers intertwined with his own. 

“You’re doing really well, Minnie. Wooj is just about done, right?” 

It was more than likely a lie, it would probably take a little while longer before Woojin finished up but like the good elder brother he was, Woojin quietly assured Seungmin that he was almost finished when Hyunjin made an understated face to show that he had to placate the redhead. 

Around twenty seconds later, Hyunjin was sitting on the desk in front of Seungmin, holding onto the younger’s hands and telling him to keep looking into his eyes, not that Seungmin had any problem with that. Exhaling sluggishly when he felt the heat receding on his back, Seungmin knew that it was finally over and that he could release Hyunjin’s hand that now had crescent indentations covering his fingers from where Seungmin had clutched on for dear life. 

“And, we’re done!” Woojin chirped with a small pat on the back that nudged Seungmin forwards with a little grunt. 

“See? That wasn’t so bad was it?” 

Downright glaring at Hyunjin, Seungmin pushed him backwards before hissing “how about I put an ignited iron poker on your back and you can tell me how  _ bad  _ it is!” 

As the Vampire laughed at his boyfriend’s, hopefully, playful threat, he took his hand again and led him towards the full length mirror that Jeongin was standing in front of. 

“It looks really cool, Seungmin. Wish I could get one too,” the Werewolf huffed, probably knowing full well that a Downworlder getting a rune would have catastrophic events for both his mental and physical state. 

Seungmin was then slowly turned around by Areum, finally getting to see Woojin’s handiwork and he had to admit, it looked pretty damn good. Intricate black lines swirled around each other, standing out on his otherwise bare back. It drew a smile upon the young man’s face, letting him feel like he was finally becoming who he was always meant to be. 

He wouldn’t feel the effects of this rune until he needed it or so he was told. The rune would know when to activate, When he became exhausted and too feeble to move on, it would bring him a burst of new life and depending on how many times he used it during his life, it would continually fade, allowing him less and less time when it would activate the next time around. But for now, he didn’t want to worry about that. He finally had his second rune, one that would hopefully serve him well. 

“Congratulations, Minnie,” Jisung exclaimed, letting Seungmin come back to reality and face all of his friends and family. “That mark means that you’re stuck with us for life now.” 

The mousy haired young man began to place Seungmin’s shirt back over his head before enveloping him in a hug with Jeongin immediately taking his place. It was a great feeling to know that this moment meant so much to everyone because it was him. Because he was a part of their family. Because he was one of them. Seungmin felt more loved than ever. Because he was home. 


	23. Blindsided

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday, everyone. Another chapter for you guys. Here you go.

The rustling pages swept across Minho’s fingertips as he flicked through yet another one of his mentor’s books before throwing it on the floor, nothing to be found within its contents. This was infuriating him to no end, a pointless search bringing him nothing but distress and leaving him with wasted time. 

As he had tried to undo the block on Seungmin’s memories back at the Institute the previous night, the last thing that he had expected was to be forcibly expelled by Jihoon’s magic. The Warlock had been immersed in the young man’s mind, pushing away the clouds of dark smoke that were acting as a barrier for Seungmin so that he could not see the past he so desperately wished to see. It was not a surprise that whoever put the barrier in place was a skilled Warlock, they would have had to have been or else the magic would come undone by itself but as he was just about to complete the spell, the fog was suddenly replaced by emerald electricity, something that Minho instantly recognised before he was strongly driven out of Seungmin’s mind by what he could only describe as a shockwave with the same energy mark that had been on the block. 

Slamming off of the wall due to the force of the magic that had removed him from his enchantment, Minho slumped to the ground with a stuttering cough, trying to figure out what the hell he had just found. It was Jihoon’s magic. Minho would stake his life upon it. He had seen his mentor do countless spells, incantations, conjurations and charms to know that the green bolts of lightning that were now encasing Seungmin’s body and not only his mind, belonged to the man he had always considered his father. There was little time to sit and ponder the implications when Seungmin began to scream with such terror in his voice before beginning to seize up and fall to the floor, his voice not giving out for one second. 

Minho knew that cutting off a spell midway was dangerous for the person involved and if he didn’t hurry, it could do irreversible damage to both Seungmin’s mind and body. Placing the younger atop his knee, the Warlock began an incantation to sate both his body and mind, calling out his name to try and break him free from his nightmares and bring him back to reality. It had eventually worked, just about two seconds before Minho was sure he was going to collapse because of the immense stress of the situation but he couldn’t help but feel like this was entirely his responsibility now. He was Jihoon’s apprentice and by extension, his successor and if something underhanded had gone down, especially when it came to someone he held very dear, there was no way he was going to walk away from this without the answers he was searching for. 

He had made a promise to investigate this himself with a rather unfair promise of silence from Seungmin. It was inexcusable for Minho to ask such a thing of the young man but he needed to know why his mentor had kept Seungmin away from all of them for ten years. More importantly, why he had been visiting him in his orphanage, knowing who he was and never saying anything, not even to Minho himself. Things were being hidden, something which Minho did not appreciate but he would be damned if he didn’t find out what it was that lay in the shadows. 

After exhausting every possibility when going through all of the belongings that he had moved to his own home, Minho had moved onto Jihoon’s house where the last remaining assets of the elder Warlock remained. He had scoured the entire building, turning it upside down before moving back to a bookcase he had already searched and seeking justification for what Jihoon had done to Seungmin. He hoped to god there was a rational explanation for all of this but nothing was giving him the answers he was searching for. 

Flopping into the armchair where Jihoon used to always read the Sunday newspaper, Minho dragged his hand over his wilting face, unable to find the energy to keep going when he was met with nothing but silence in response to his desperate questioning. 

“Old man, I want to believe in you right now, that you wouldn’t do that to Seungmin unless there was a logical reason but you’re not giving me much to go on here,” fretted Minho, worrying his bottom lip and repeatedly hitting his head off of the back of the chair as if the repetition would give him some sort of inspiration. 

Funnily enough, it seemed to do the trick. Jolting forwards, Minho put his hand in his back pocket, fishing out the envelope that was admittedly a little crumpled from being sat on. Just in case he somehow found the courage to open it, Minho decided to always keep Jihoon’s final letter on his person. In his mind, it was always just a conclusive way of knowing that his mentor was gone from this world, a last goodbye between just the two of them but now, he was hoping there was something more. A sign, a clue, some sort of directions that Minho could follow to know that Jihoon didn’t escape this world while leaving Minho in the dark. 

Knowing this was all he had at the moment, Minho reached his trembling fingers forwards, ripping the wax seal with Jihoon’s personal insignia on it and emptying the contents of the envelope into his hands. Three pages full of his teacher’s handwriting appeared, the delicate cursive scribbles letting Minho know straight away that it was indeed Jihoon who had written this, that it was definitely the elder Warlock speaking to him from the other side. Where else to start but at the very beginning, Minho thought. 

_ ‘My dearest son, Minho…’  _

That awful knot in Minho’s stomach began twisting tighter with each syllable he read, the elder man’s words that were supposed to make his heart feel lighter, cracking it as he continued to speak about his past, his actions and Minho himself. There were blanks that hadn’t been filled in by the older Warlock, stuff that Minho would have to deduce by himself at some point but the explanations that were woven between Jihoon’s message brought a lot of things to light, things he wasn’t sure who to share with since there was a warning within the lines of the letter too. 

_ ‘Be careful who you trust.’  _

Allowing his arm to hang over the edge of the chair, Minho let his mentor’s final words fall to the ground, tears following it down from the young Warlock’s eyes. 

“Damn it, old man. What did you get yourself into?”

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Everything had been fine a month ago. Jihoon was still with him. There were no secrets between them. Minho was happy. Now? Now, Minho felt like he had entered some shitstorm that would inevitably have some dire consequences for not only the people he cared about but for the Shadow world in general. 

At the sound of inane buzzing, Minho sluggishly turned his head towards Jihoon’s desk where his cell phone lay before rising to his feet to answer it. The caller ID flashed ‘Sungie’ and Minho wasn’t entirely sure he had the strength to listen to the peppy Shadowhunter who often called just to chat about their day. Still, he had the undeniable wish to answer it anyways, pressing the accept button and placing it to his ear. 

“Hello?” 

_ “Hey, Min. Where are you?”  _

“Why?” Minho answered far too hastily, his mind automatically thinking that if he said he was in Jihoon’s home that Jisung would begin asking questions about what he was doing there. Jisung couldn’t know about any of this. Not yet. Not until he had more clarity about the situation. 

_ “Because I’m in front of your apartment door and you aren’t answering?”  _ Jisung snorted, as if it was obvious. 

“Why are you at my apartment?” 

_ “Because before you went to check Minnie’s memories last night, you told me that I should come over to your place to spend the night. Remember?”  _

That’s right. Minho had been so preoccupied with his promise to Seungmin that he had inadvertently forgotten about his one to Jisung. He had promised the young man that they could spend the evening together after he had dealt with Seungmin but he hadn’t expected such results to come out of it and at the moment, everything pertaining to this was more imperative than spending time with Jisung. 

“Ah, I forgot, Sung. I’m not at home right now.” 

_ “That’s ok. Where are you? I can come and meet you if you want,”  _ Jisung bubbled, apparently already on the move from the sound of his footsteps. 

“No, Jisung. I’m too busy at the moment.” 

That was the truth. Minho was far too busy drowning in the innumerable questions that his father’s note had left and how he was supposed to deal with them. There was a brief moment of quietude and Minho had the strangest feeling that he had given something away, despite not changing anything in the way he would usually speak. 

_ “Min, is something wrong?”  _

Damn Jisung and his observant nature. It was something he usually adored about the younger because, a lot of the time, words weren’t needed between them, both of them knowing what each other needed, wanted and felt. That’s what made their relationship so special. 

“No, Sung. Nothing is wrong.”

_ “Are you sure?”  _

“Jisung, I said I was fine.” 

_ “I know, Min. We can still meet up later if you want to talk or anything though. I’m here for you, you know that, right? ” _

“I don’t need to talk, Jisung. Everything is alright.”   


_ “But Min, I-” _

“Jisung! I said I don’t have time to meet up with you! We don’t have to spend every waking hour together! I told you I’m fine so can you just stop hounding me about it and leave me alone?!"

That was unfair. That was so unfair and Minho knew it. Why was he shouting at Jisung when his friend was just trying to make sure that he was alright? When the young Shadowhunter was one of the only people who would constantly check up on him and make sure he was doing ok. Jisung had never been anything but kind and patient with Minho. 

The night when he had lost Jihoon instantly sprang to mind, when the younger man had tended to him with such care that it soothed his heart and soul and that was a commentary on Jisung’s whole personality; he just wanted to take care of people so that they had no worries. That’s exactly what Jisung was doing right now because he somehow knew Minho was suffering and the Warlock had just roared at him down the phone about how he should just mind his own business and stop concerning himself with him. 

That wasn’t what Minho wanted at all and he cursed himself when Jisung stayed completely silent on the other end, nothing but quiet breaths coming through the receiver. Feeling increasingly worse at the way he had just spoken to him, Minho let his eyes slowly shut as he calmed his breathing, knowing he had to apologise right now before the situation festered. 

“Sungie, I-”   


_ “Sorry for bothering you, Minho.” _

Three beeps signified that the call had been disconnected and if that wasn’t enough to make Minho feel like the most contemptible person in the world, the tiny crack in Jisung’s voice when he uttered Minho’s name put the final nail in the coffin. 

How could he speak to Jisung like that? How could he speak to his best friend like that? How could he speak to one of the most important people in the world to him like that? 

Violently sweeping his hands across Jihoon’s desk, causing everything to come crashing to the ground, Minho yelled into the open air, falling to the floor with a thump and cradling his head in his hands. This was too much for him to handle. He needed to speak to someone about it. He couldn’t do this on his own.

_ ‘Be careful who you trust.’  _

While he believed in so many of his friends, there was only one person who he knew he could always rely on without hesitation when it came to something like this. Someone he knew he could trust with this sensitive information. 

He needed to speak with Woojin. 

* * *

“Innie? Hey, pup, did you have fun at the Institute?”   


Opening his arms out wide when he saw Jeongin’s head snap up at the sound of his voice, Chan let out a sweet laugh when the young Werewolf came barreling towards him and jumped into his arms, happy to have his pack leader back with him. 

“It was so awesome! The ceremony was amazing! And afterwards, we all ate lunch and I got to spend a lot of time with Seungmin too. Changbin’s mom kept pinching my cheeks and telling me I was cute though. Thank you for letting me go.”

As they returned from the meeting the previous evening, Jeongin had constantly been fidgeting with his fingers, silently mouthing words to himself as if giving a speech to nobody in particular. A minute scent of distress floated upwards so that Chan caught a whiff of it and he had to question why Jeongin was acting in such a worrisome manner when his alpha was standing right beside him. 

“You wanna tell me why you’re stressed, Innie?” 

Chan had to suppress a giggle when he noticed the tiny roll of Jeongin’s eyes, knowing he was probably becoming increasingly exasperated that Chan could pick up on the smallest change in his demeanor, regardless of how well he tried to be discreet. Perks of being an alpha. 

“I’m not stressed, I just…Jisung came to speak with me after the meeting.” 

“Ok. What did he talk to you about?” 

In his heart, Chan was already aware that no harmful words had come from Jisung because he knew the younger well enough to say with certainty that there wasn’t an evil bone in his body. 

“He…he told me that Seungmin is getting his first- well, technically,  _ second  _ rune tomorrow and Jisung said that Shadowhunters usually have friends at these kinds of things and since I’ve become friends with Seungmin, he asked if I wanted to come and I really want to go to support him and I know I would be going without you and you might not like me going to the Institute by myself just yet but-”

“Innie, you haven’t taken a breath since you started your explanation. Breathe for me, pup,” Chan implored the Werewolf whose face was beginning to turn a little blue from lack of oxygen. “If you want to go and support Seungmin, then that is your decision to make. I’ve told you, Jeongin. Being in a pack isn’t a dictatorship. You are your own person and make your own choices. I only want you to tell me about them so that they don’t put you in any danger. That is my only concern. I know the Institute is safe and the people there will look after you, so, if you want to go tomorrow, then go ahead.”

Chan would never be able to understand the alphas out there who followed the primal ways of their ancestors, the idea of ‘what alpha says, goes’, not giving the members of their pack their own voice. Even though they had a primitive animalistic side within themselves that they could be lost to at any time, they also still had their humanity, something that the majority of Werewolves held onto for dear life because, if they didn’t, then they were no better than what those close minded people that whispered between themselves thought them to be. 

Not all Shadowhunters were as tolerant of Downworlders as his friends at the Institute were and there were those who would slander them and call it blasphemy that they were using their angelic powers to help ‘things’ like them. Animals. Not that any of them had a choice in that matter, regardless of whether they were born this way or turned. 

That’s why Chan believed in letting everyone in his pack be their own person. Chan was simply there to bring them together, to let them know they had a safe space and people who believed in them, to show them that they could live their life freely without fear by learning to control the wolf within. He was their leader in guidance, not someone out to dictate their every move. 

It was completely obvious that this was the correct road to take with regards to his authority when Jeongin suddenly had the biggest smile on his face, wrapping his arms around Chan’s neck and chanting ‘thank you’ a thousand times in his ear as the alpha placed a fond kiss on the top of his head. They had walked home together hand in hand, the buoyant and cheerful mood never dispelling. 

And that had carried over to today too as he helped Jeongin get ready for his first real outing by himself without his alpha or someone from the pack. It reminded him of his own first day of school for some reason. Jeongin getting dressed up in his nicest clothes, practically bursting with excitement as he pulled on Chan’s hand to lead him out the door so that they could walk to the Institute together. Admittedly, it was hard to let him go somewhere without him but it would have to happen eventually and when he met Hyunjin in front of the Institute, the Vampire saying he would walk in with the young Werewolf, Chan gave him words of thanks and a small wave to Jeongin before he was out of his sight when he walked through the front doors. 

“Chan, Seungmin’s rune was so cool, all intricate and beautiful! Woojin looked so concentrated while he was doing it but damn, it looked like it hurt!” burst Jeongin, too tied up in his excitement to realise exactly what it was he was saying and to who he was saying it. 

“He was, huh? Well, he was always good at drawing runes. Pretty sure Sungie and Bin have a few that he applied too,” Chan reminisced, remembering when he had been there as Jisung had gotten the Nyx rune applied by Woojin, apparently allowing him to see in the dark when activated. This was due to an unfortunate mishap on a mission where he had been tracking a demon in the sewers and had ultimately fallen into a pile of sewage because he had tripped over a broken pipe since he couldn’t see clearly, nearly making Chan tumble out of his chair from laughing so hard when he heard it.

“Why can’t we get runes too?”Jeongin sulked, asking the question even though he already knew the answer. 

“You tell me, Innie. Why can’t Downworlders get runes?” 

Chan was all about turning everything into a teachable moment and he made a point that everyone in his pack should be educated when it came to the Downworld and Shadowhunters too. Jeongin was no exception and he had been helping the younger with his studies in any way that he could. 

“Because runes only work with seraphim blood as it is said that the angel Raziel gave them to Shadowhunters since they are part angel themselves,” Jeongin drawled, knowing exactly why Chan was making him regurgitate the information instead of simply reiterating the obvious answer himself. “If a Mundane, Vampire, Warlock or Faerie were to get one, they would inevitably be driven mad and turned into a Forsaken, a monster with no consciousness filled with pain and anger.” 

Walking into his office, Chan continued to listen carefully as Jeongin spilled his knowledge on the subject of runes. He was always rather excellent when it came to memorising facts and such; Chan still wanted to test him every now and again though. 

“Because of the demonic disease that causes lycanthropy, Werewolves can also not obtain runes because they will have no effect. That’s so unfair though!” 

“That’s the way things are, Innie,” Chan reasoned, taking a seat behind his desk and motioning to the other side for Jeongin to join him. 

“Can I get a regular tattoo then?” 

“No,” Chan replied without hesitation, tapping on his keyboard keys and bringing up the patrol schedule on his monitor. 

“Why not? You have one!” 

That was true enough. Chan had gotten it when he was nineteen because that was when he had taken over his own pack and he wanted to get one as a sort of memento of such an auspicious time. A compass splashed with kaleidoscopic watercolours placed just to the left of his heart, a hopeful sign that it would always point him in the right direction as a leader. 

But Jeongin was not getting one. He was too young. 

Despite being two years older than when Chan got his. 

“You make it seem like I’m ten years old, Chan. When I was playing video games with Wonsik earlier, he told me all about his and how they didn’t hurt that much either. Why can’t I have one too?”   


While Chan was more than thrilled that Jeongin was now getting along with Wonsik, as well as the other members of the pack, he nearly cursed out the other wolf for discussing something like that with his pup. Turning his attention towards Jeongin, Chan raised one eyebrow at the twinkling eyes the other was now giving him. 

“Innie…”

“Pretty please, Channie?” 

“Don’t call me that, Jeongin,” Chan groggily retorted, hating how much he was still affected by that nickname. 

“I won’t call you Channie if you stop calling me pup,” Jeongin tried but knew that it was probably a losing battle. 

“But you are my pup. We’ll talk about this another time,” Chan concluded and he could see that Jeongin thought this was just another way of saying no but now, Chan wanted to talk about something else, something that he would really rather not speak about at all. “Come sit beside me, Innie.” 

Jeongin did as told, hopping up on the desk in front of Chan when the elder scooted backwards. This was a conversation that would require all of his focus because he wasn’t sure how Jeongin was going to react to the information, the possibility of the younger shifting upon hearing Yedam’s story making its way into Chan’s thoughts. 

“While you were at the Institute today, I went somewhere myself,” Chan began, internally yelling at himself to just find the courage he knew he had as an alpha and tell Jeongin about how he was wise to what Yedam was to him now and how his boyfriend had been aware of his brother’s circumstances all along. 

“Oh? Where did you go?”

“I…I went to see Yedam, Innie,” stated Chan, unsure as to whether the surprise on Jeongin’s face would soon morph into anger, sadness or something else. 

“You did? Is…is he ok? The demon didn’t hurt him, right? Did you tell him anything about me? Did he tell you anything about me? Was he surprised? Afraid? Upset? Does he want nothing to do with me now after seeing what I am? Does he think I’m a monster?”

“No, Innie, no,” Chan placated, taking the younger’s face in his hands and drawing him close, allowing him to push his nose into the juncture of his neck and breathe in the appeasing pheromones he was emitting to try and calm Jeongin’s frayed nerves. 

It was something that Chan knew that every turn dealt with; the idea of trying to come to terms that they weren’t ‘monsters’ but at the same time having an internalised fear of what they were and what they could become if they lost themselves. Chan had grown up with a wolf within himself, his parents striving to teach him how to always be in control of his instincts and instruct him on how to help others should he ever come into contact with new turns or lost wolves, not knowing that he would be the leader of his own pack some day. 

Even though Jeongin was more sure of himself nowadays, knowing that Yedam had seen him in his half form immediately let the younger fall back to the beginning of his progress, wondering if Yedam now saw him as some sort of freakish beast. This is exactly what Chan meant when he told Yedam he could set Jeongin back months by revealing himself again. 

“He doesn’t think you’re a monster. Before I explain why, I want you to tell me why you didn’t mention what he was to you. You said he was a friend but that’s not all he was, right?”

His tone held no disappointment, no hurt or frustration, just a genuine curiosity as to why Jeongin didn’t let him know that Yedam had been the closest thing he had to a mate. Well, when he was human, of course. Chan couldn’t seem to think of a reason why he would hide something like that, someone he held so dear to his heart. 

“What difference would it have made?” Jeongin whined listlessly, still hidden away in Chan’s neck, increasing his grip on the elder’s shirt with the small claws that had sprouted. “You told me to leave everything behind, all that was important to me, including him.” 

A tiny piece was chipped out of Chan’s heart at the sorrow filled words that broke through Jeongin’s whimpers, not knowing that his pup had been carrying something like this within himself all along. It was true that Chan had said this but he didn’t mean that Jeongin could never speak about his past, talk about those who were significant to him. This had obviously been causing him unnecessary hurt and the alpha censured himself when he hadn’t noticed. 

“Oh, pup. If there was someone that important to you, you could have told me. Even if he was just an ordinary Mundane, I could have looked out for him. You know I still have friends in Busan and they could have updated me on his life,” Chan assured, cupping the other’s face again and thumbing over his heated cheeks. 

“What does that mean? If he were an  _ ordinary  _ Mundane?” Jeongin pondered aloud, seemingly ignoring the rest of Chan’s promising words. 

This was the moment that Chan had been dreading all night. He had undoubtedly calmed down a lot since his visit with Yedam, mentally insisting to himself that he had been far too ruthless when it came to the younger’s admittance of what had occurred so many months ago and even though it sounded like he didn’t want Jeongin anywhere near him, Chan knew that both young men were important to one another and he would never try to isolate them if they were truly meant to be. Still, what he was going to say and the way he was going to say it could definitely influence Jeongin’s decision since Chan was his alpha. It was important that Chan kept that in mind when he was about to explain Yedam’s circumstances. 

“Sit with me for a second, Innie,” Chan sighed, perching Jeongin on his left knee and beginning his tale. 

It didn’t take all that long because Chan didn’t want to give away too many of his thoughts on the situation, just the information that Yedam had passed onto him. Jeongin still trembled as Chan’s hand rubbed soothing circles into the young Werewolf’s back as he spoke. 

“He…he knew the entire time?” spluttered Jeongin, standing from Chan’s lap and beginning to pace frantically around the room. “We were together day and night and he never told me?!” 

“Innie, calm down,” Chan tried though he could tell from Jeongin’s scent that this was above a simple verbal request. “You must understand that he couldn’t tell you. You were a Mundane back then and couldn’t know anything about the Shadow world.” 

If it weren’t such a serious situation, Chan would have actually laughed out loud at how he was pleading Yedam’s case. A few hours ago he was at the Mundane’s throat for even thinking about coming back into Jeongin’s life and hindering all of his progress. Now, he was trying to make Jeongin see sense and possibly give Yedam another chance. 

“He could have told someone else then! Why didn’t he…” Jeongin didn’t even need an answer to his question when he already knew that Yedam hadn’t told anyone else because of the threats Seojun had put forward, terrified that a newly turned wolf wouldn’t hesitate to keep his promise of hurting his family. 

“Jeongin, listen to me,” Chan tried, scratching behind the sandy ears sprouting from the younger’s head, though it seemed Jeongin wasn’t having any of it, pulling away and swatting Chan’s hand off. “I told Yedam that I wouldn’t make the decision for you but he wanted to see you again, I presume to explain this to you himself and to make sure you were ok. It’s entirely up to you but-”

“I want to see him.” 

The tone of the demand held such authority that Chan knew he didn’t have to ask again but Jeongin was seriously worked up at the moment, just as Chan had been when having his conversation with Yedam and he thought it best, as an alpha, to give him time let him find some serenity amidst the chaos. 

“Ok, I understand that, Innie. If that’s what you want, then that’s what we’ll do but it won’t be for a few days, alright? I know you’re going to tell me that you don’t need anymore time to think about all of this but I’m going to give it to you anyway. If, in a couple of days you still feel the same way, then I will take you to him, alright?” 

If Jeongin gave any answer other than ‘yes’ to Chan’s question, the elder knew that he could easily use his alpha tone to force Jeongin into submission but as he always believed, that scenario was only for when a wolf from his pack would no longer see sense and thankfully, that wasn’t needed when Jeongin got down on his hunches and sighed emphatically. 

“Yes, alpha,” he muttered, eyes glazing over, small mewls emerging from his huddled form, alerting Chan that he had slipped into a very passive and compliant state and needed to be taken care of by his pack or else it would force him into a very dangerous drop since his mentality had taken quite a hit. 

“Come on, pup. Let’s go,” Chan entreated, bending down and picking Jeongin up in his arms before beginning to walk to the living room where a few of the pack were resting and watching some action movie on the tv, the little ones sitting far too close to the screen but only because they wanted to mimic the actors’ punches and whallops that they were dealing out to the bad guys. 

“Hey, Chan. Everything alright?” Wonsik began happily but when he saw Jeongin with his arms curled around the alpha’s neck, he presumed that everything was, in fact, not alright. 

“Yeah, scooch over for me, would you?” 

Wonsik did as asked, making room for the alpha and allowing him to deposit Jeongin on the welcoming burgundy cushions before slipping in beside him and pulling him close to his chest. 

With a cocked brow and anxious expression since he could undoubtedly detect the troubled state the young man was in, Wonsik remained silent since he knew that Chan would have explained Jeongin’s situation if he had needed to know about it. Still, he took the time to move closer to the young Werewolf, massaging the back of his neck while turning back to tune back into the action movie which had moved onto a much more lighthearted scene. 

Chan was glad that Wonsik had come to his senses when it came to his relationship with Jeongin, the elder wolf almost becoming a big brother figure to the sandy haired youngster now sleeping in Chan’s arms and he could only hope that it would make Jeongin’s time with them here so much easier. 

“Yuna, Lia, sit a bit further away from the television, please. You’re going to ruin your eyesight.” 

“Yes, Chan,” the youngest girls in the pack replied, not for a second even thinking about disobeying their alpha, despite only being nine and twelve respectively. 

The scent of distress slowly started to evaporate thanks to the skinship the pack had provided for Jeongin. With the young man resting on Chan’s chest and Wonsik continually working out the knots in his neck, Jeongin seemed to be more than content. It was probably only strengthened when Lia and Yuna somehow made their way backwards, the two of them sitting on the floor on either side of Jeongin’s legs and resting their heads on his knees. 

It would be a long road ahead of them, especially when it came to dealing with Yedam and the situation that he had brought along with him from Busan but Chan was sure they could do it together. He would never be alone, even as a leader. He trusted in his pack, he trusted in Jeongin and more importantly, he trusted himself. Despite what life would throw at them, they would figure it out together. 

Little did Chan know that life has an awfully funny way of surprising you sometimes; be it in a good way or bad. Something he would undoubtedly discover in the very near future. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all THOUGHT I'd reveal Jihoon's secrets. Not this week but very, very soon. See you all next time.


	24. Aegis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I left all of you hanging with regards to what was in Jihoon's letter to Minho but fear not, it's in this chapter for you guys. Things are about to get really messy.

The Institute’s halls were bustling this morning and it was all thanks to Woojin’s orders flying left and right. With checklist in hand, the eldest Shadowhunter scurried into the kitchen, telling Dahyun that the place needed to be spotless, no pot, pan or dish out of place. With a comforting smile, she reassured Woojin that she would oversee everything and make sure that there wasn’t a speck of dirt left in the place. Not even having time to thank her for the comfort, though he was sure Dahyun knew, he skedaddled back through the swinging doors to walk through the dining hall. 

The stressed state that Woojin was currently in was all thanks to what Areum had told him the night before. Everything had gone so well with Seungmin’s rune application yesterday, with Woojin finding himself truly at ease with the euphoria around him for the first time in a very long time. Seeing Seungmin settling in so well, with Hyunjin on his left and Jeongin on his right while Jisung and Changbin sat opposite them as they shared a meal, forced Woojin to break out his proudest smile while he observed them, noticing Areum seeming to hold the exact same sentiment. 

That was the moment she decided to tell Woojin that she had gotten a fire message from his father to say that he would be returning in a couple of days, contrary to what he told Woojin when last they spoke. Instead of a week to prepare for his father’s arrival, Woojin now had two days at best. Though, he never told Areum the exact day he would be back and Woojin couldn’t help but think that it was funny that Yunseok never let him know that he would be returning sooner than he had expected. 

Intentionally, no doubt, since Yunseok had told Areum not to let Woojin know about his arrival but Areum kind of guessed why he had asked that of her. Possibly because he thought he would come home and see the Institute in disarray. That would never be the case though, Woojin wouldn’t allow it but he really didn’t want to give his father any more ammunition than he already had when it came to trying to degrade and humiliate him. That’s why the Institute was being cleaned from top to bottom today. 

When Woojin had told Jisung, Changbin and Seungmin that they were on clean up duty in the dining hall, they whined and moaned, Woojin being annoyed that Seungmin was already falling back into such old habits with his friends but once he mentioned that it was because his father would be coming back soon, they closed their traps mighty fast before grabbing mops, buckets and dusting cloths and dutifully began sterilizing the place with such ferocity that it made Woojin smirk. 

“Kitchen? Dahyun’s got it under control. Library? Mina said she’d take care of that. Dining hall? Three brats doing their jobs for once. Surveillance room? Yugyeom told me he’d check all the data. Entrance hall-” 

Yelping with far too much surprise, Woojin clumsily dropped his clipboard where he had been ticking off jobs and almost fell due to his tangled feet after harshly banging into someone standing in the hallway. Luckily, a hand that had always been there to catch him reached out and pulled him back up on his feet, bringing him to meet hazel eyes wondering what had just happened. 

“Oh, Minho, when did you get here?” Woojin asked perplexed, brushing himself off and gathering his belongings from the floor. 

“Just now. Wooj, we need to talk.” 

With a straight forward, no nonsense tone that the Warlock rarely used since it was in stark contrast to his personality, Minho looked everywhere except directly at Woojin, like he was anticipating someone to come out of the shadows and interrupt their conversation, making Woojin stall for a moment before remembering what it was he was doing before his friend arrived. 

“Min, you know I love when you visit to chat but I’m super busy at the moment. Maybe another time? Feel free to stay around though,” Woojin apologised with sincerity, already turning on his heel and directing his concentration back to his work until he felt a severe clutch on his bicep. 

“No, Wooj. We  _ need  _ to talk. Now.” 

Thinking back on all of the time he had ever spent with Minho, Woojin couldn’t recollect a moment when he had seen the Warlock like this before. Eyes darting frantically around him, fingers dancing to a silent, high tempo rhythm, bottom lip beginning to tear with the fierce grip his teeth had on it. Minho was on edge, visibly shaken by something and Woojin knew that he could not put this conversation off. The jobs around the Institute could wait. Minho was far more important than his father. Not like Woojin wasn’t used to the constant derision he would undoubtedly receive anyways. 

“Alright, Min. Are you ok? What is it?” coaxed Woojin, as he took Minho’s hands and brushed them tenderly with his thumbs. 

“Not here. In your office,” Minho whispered, a secret that couldn’t be heard by anyone else letting itself manifest for Woojin with the Warlock’s words. 

The short walk to the Shadowhunter’s office was a little daunting if Woojin was being honest. Minho was taking much larger strides in his haste to make it to a room where nobody could hear them, making Woojin break into a little sprint to catch up. Following Minho inside as the Warlock implored Woojin to lock the doors, something he never did since he was the head of the Institute and someone could need him for something urgent at any time of the day, Woojin hesitated at the threshold for a moment. Still, he did as asked when he saw how frenzied Minho’s actions were, unsure as to what had caused the Warlock to barge into the Institute and call an impromptu, secret meeting with him. 

“Min, talk to me. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on,” implored Woojin, trying to catch Minho’s eye as he marched hecticly around the room. 

“I’m not really sure where to start, Wooj.” 

With a smile wrought with hopelessness, Minho shook his head and stared out the open window, a fresh but bitter breeze airing out the room. 

“I find that the beginning is usually a pretty good place. Sit, Min and take a breath. Organise your thoughts and tell me when you’re ready,” Woojin suggested, guiding Minho to the chaise lounge before pulling up his own chair to face him, patiently waiting until the Warlock found some strength to speak. 

Probably figuring that they couldn’t sit there all day in silence, Minho raised his eyes to meet Woojin’s, snorting lightly at how tolerant and understanding his friend was when it came to others, a viable reason he was chosen as head of the Institute. 

“I lied to you, Wooj,” Minho admitted, no longer able to keep staring into the confused face of a friend he held so dear but had deceived all the same. “When I performed the ritual to check Seungmin’s memories, I found a block there.” 

If Woojin wasn’t confused before, he most certainly was now. Two nights ago, both Minho and Seungmin had joined them in the peaceful dining hall as they awaited to hear hopeful news but when both insisted that there was nothing magical to be found distorting Seungmin’s memories, the little bit of faith that they all held that Seungmin could find his past was dashed. Now, Minho was telling him that this wasn’t the case, that they had hidden such a salient point like this from everyone. Scooting the creaking chair closer, Woojin placed a steady hand upon the Warlock’s knee, trying to ground him. 

“There was? Why would you lie to us about that, Min? Does Seungmin know the truth?” 

With a further nod of his head, Minho let Woojin know that Seungmin had been in on the deceit too and as much as Woojin trusted in both of them, he didn’t take too kindly to the way he had been misled on such a crucial issue. 

“And don’t be mad at him for not telling you. I begged him not to,” beseeched the Warlock, not wanting Seungmin to suffer any consequences because of what he had asked of him. 

“You’re hiding something else from me, Min. There’s something more to all of this.”

Everyone had their secrets; god knows Woojin did too. He had hidden the whole reason behind his split with Chan from Minho for months now and he began to wonder if the frustration of not knowing about that felt similar to this moment for him. He had told the Warlock to take his time before speaking but in all honesty, he wished Minho would hurry up and let him in on this mystery that was drawing such a sour grimace on the elder’s face. 

“Jihoon was the one who put the block there.” 

Of all the possible explanations that Woojin had been expecting, that most certainly wasn’t one of them. Now he understood why Minho looked so terrified to tell him, why he was so reluctant. 

“What?! W-why?! How could he…? That’s not-” 

“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too,” Minho sighed, dragging his hand across his face. 

A thousand and one questions struggled for dominance in Woojin’s mind but after a couple of seconds, a thought overcame all of them when it occurred to Woojin that the reason Minho hadn’t removed it wasn’t because he didn’t want to but because of something else. 

“You  _ couldn’t _ undo the block, could you?” 

“In all the years he trained me, I never did surpass the old man in magical prowess and believe me, I tried,” Minho admitted, though Woojin was sure that wasn’t easy. “I tried to eradicate it, Wooj, I promise I did but Jihoon’s magic intercepted me and pushed me out. Though I wonder if it will last much longer.” 

Before Woojin even asked what he meant by that, Minho began putting his hands into the pocket of his gray, cashmere overcoat, pulling out a ripped envelope with his name on it. 

“Why did Jihoon put the block on Seungmin’s memories? How could he never tell us about it? What was he trying to hide? Was he trying to protect himself or someone else? Those thoughts are jumping inside around in your head right now, correct?” questioned Minho, though he already knew Woojin’s response since the Warlock knew what it felt like to be in this position. 

Handing the crinkled, white envelope to Woojin, with hands trembling a little, Minho nibbled on his lip, obviously concerned at what the eldest Shadowhunter would think of its contents. 

It occurred to Woojin that this was the letter that Jihoon had left behind, the one that Minho had been so hesitant to open but in seeking answers to his queries, finally found the courage to reveal its text when it could shed some transparency on his confusion. 

“It would be easier to show you what I know than tell you. It doesn’t answer everything but it’s a start. Just…prepare yourself, Wooj. I think you’ll have even more questions by the time you’re finished.”   


With that ominous warning, Woojin dipped his hand inside the envelope, taking the pages that had tiny dried splashes of something around its edges, the Shadowhunter beginning to wonder if Minho had been crying while reading the contents, only making the knot in his stomach feel so much tighter. With a paralysed heart, Woojin began to read the words quietly to himself. 

_ ‘My dearest son, Minho,  _

_ If you are reading this, then two things are for certain.  _

_ Firstly, I am no longer in this world and have moved onto the other side. About that, my boy, do not mourn me for too long. Your spirit is far too dazzling to be lamenting over an old codger like me. I lived a full life, cheerful and fortunate for so many of my days. This time was made even brighter when I took you in because, Minho, you let me understand what it was like to finally have a family and for that, I will be eternally grateful to you. I am so incredibly proud of you, my son, not only for becoming High Warlock of Seoul after me but simply for the person you have become. You have grown into such a splendid young man and I couldn’t have asked for a better apprentice. I love you so, my dear, sweet boy and I do hope that, someday, you can experience the love of a family of your own too. Do not push people away, Minho. You have many a friend who cares about you and I know that they will be your strength when the time comes that you need it the most.’  _

Woojin didn’t need to say anything to Minho to know that he was being referred to in Jihoon’s words because that’s what he and his friends were to one another: strength. In many times of pain and doubt, like when Jihoon had passed and he, Jisung and Changbin had taken care of Minho for three days, they would stay by each other’s side and help with the hurt that they were experiencing. They leaned on one another so that none of them would ever falter and fall. 

_ ‘The second, I fear, is that I was too much of a failure and a coward to tell you the truth before I left you. _

_ I thought I should write this down in case I was, because there is no doubt that things will transpire after my death, things I never wished to burden you with, Minho but as you are now High Warlock, just as I was, we, perhaps unfairly, must shoulder the responsibilities of the Shadow world too to make sure that the darkness never prevails over light. Though, I am truly sorry for hiding all of this from you and your friends at the Institute, for I know it has hurt all of you greatly. My sins towards you have to do with a boy you possibly think dead: Kim Seungmin.’  _

This was it. This was what Minho undoubtedly wanted Woojin to read. Raising his eyes but not his head to stare at the other, Woojin noticed the Warlock was holding his head in his hands, probably reciting the words of the letter in his own head since he had undoubtedly read it countless times. 

_ ‘In those words, you have probably guessed that he is, in fact, alive. Who knows? Perhaps you are already aware of this since my magic will begin to fail from the moment I pass. The boy has been under my protection for the last ten years because of a promise I made to his father on that dreadful Christmas Eve. You surely know the one of which I speak. _

_ The night of the explosion and demon infestation, I remember you were in New York at a conference and were not here to witness the horrors that befell us. For that small coincidence, I am grateful because it was one of the worst things I have ever experienced.’ _

Woojin remembered that too. After the alarm had been raised at the Institute, with every possible available Shadowhunter flocking to the scene to assist the attack, they had tried to contact Minho to ask him if he knew what was going on, only for the Warlock to tell them that he was on the other side of the world. He could portal back but it would take a while since the distance was so great and would inexplicably drain his power. 

_ ‘I heard the explosion from my house, nearly ten miles away and immediately portaled to the city to see what had happened. It was pure and utter calamity, Minho. The reports written on it do not do the anarchy justice. I had to choose between trying to help innocent civilians, tending to those who were too weak to run and fighting off the demons. In the end, it seems as though I was no help in any of those areas because of what I saw next. _

_ Eunyeong _ _ ,  _ _ Seungmin’s father, barely clinging to life as his Minjoon lay motionless next to him. Junseo and Soojin, Jisung’s parents, a couple of feet away, still clinging to each other’s hands even in death. My friends. Gone. I rushed to Eunyeong as quickly as I could but he knew, as well as I, that it was far too late. Black blood was oozing from his wounds, a sign that a demon’s poison had already tainted his blood beyond repair. He reached out for my hand and I took his with as much gentleness as I could muster. What he uttered next was the reason for my deception, Minho and I hope that you too can see why I did what I did.  _

_ He told me to find Seungmin, that they had been separated from him after they had been attacked and had been unable to find him because of their wounds. It would always be a risk for Mundanes to do an investigation into a Shadowhunter’s body because of what they could discover, that they were not like them.  _

_ I promised that I would locate him and return him home but his grip on my hand as well as the look in his eyes hardened. He could barely speak from the blood crawling up his throat but I could just about hear what he asked of me. Eunyeong told me that Seungmin couldn’t go back to the Institute, that it was far too dangerous now, that he didn’t know who they could trust. He asked me to keep him away from the Shadow world if I could and that he knew it was a lot to ask of me but he feared that his son may have seen too much already that could put his life in grave danger. I didn’t know what he meant by that but as I was about to ask, he began to choke and pushed me away and told me to hurry and find his son, to protect him. I wished not to leave him but I would respect a dying man’s last wish. The last favour my friend had asked of me.  _

_ I thought that would be all as I left him there to locate Seungmin but when I got far enough away, I turned to have one last look at the mayhem and that’s when I saw them.  _

_ Hooded figures.  _

_ Skulking around the place. No fear or interest in what was going on around them, like they were the ones who had instigated such chaos. No Mundane seemed to register their presence either. They looked so out of place when there were people screaming and running away from the calamity.  _

_ One walked straight up to the bodies of the Shadowhunters that had already passed before moving onto Eunyeong as he gasped for breath. I heard Eunyeong begging, telling the person above him to stop but before I could do anything, the hooded figure sliced his blade across my friend’s throat.  _

_ A murderer. Making it look like a demon had been the one to kill him instead. They killed an already dying man but it was not out of mercy. For this, I wanted to run back but I suddenly realised why it was that Eunyeong said he wasn’t sure who he could trust anymore. For the figure’s arms became visible once they swung their blade. And they were covered. By runes.’  _

Woojin had to do everything in his power not to throw up right there and then. Jihoon’s words were stunningly realistic, making Woojin feel like he was experiencing the night of horrors for himself but once he began to read that what had eventually killed Seungmin’s father was not a demon as they had all believed but was, in fact, a  _ someone,  _ he instantly felt himself beginning to break out in a cold sweat _ .  _

“A Shadowhunter? No that’s not…possible. Nobody would do that. That’s not…”

“Keep reading, Wooj,” Minho whispered, not taking his eyes off of the floor that they had been glued to since Woojin had begun. 

_ ‘I cloaked myself with an invisibility spell and ran, for I feared that those Shadowhunters would come for me next once if they knew that I had seen them. I dare not speak of what else I witnessed on that night but I will never forget that there were runes on the person’s arms. Their face was covered and I wish I had stuck around to identify them and possibly find out why they were there but I had made a promise to find Seungmin and there was no time to waste in that regard for who knew what the Mundanes would find if I did not intervene.  _

_ I searched many hospitals, portaling to each one to reduce time and when I eventually found him, he was in a terrible state. He had surely hit his head since his face was covered in blood. He was barely recognisable and this is when I took my chance. I placed a distortion glamour over him so that not even his own mother would recognise him. No Mundane seemed to notice the change in appearance either and I knew that I had to keep the spell going for as long as I could so that he would become untraceable. Though the change would not be obvious to him. Even if he saw himself in photographs, his appearance would remain unchanged but to his eyes only. _

_ I made another terrible decision that night, to block the young boy’s memories so that he had no recollection of his former life. Since he had a head injury, it would make sense to those around him that something like that would have snatched his memories away. Whether or not this would block some vastly important information about what had occurred on that night was a risk that I had to take. I needed to protect him. For his father. _

_ I left him with his name for I could not take that away from him. I did not know if my choice would be for his own good but I did not know which other way I could keep him from harm. I could not keep him by my side for I knew those who had murdered Eunyeong and the rest of my friends would surely discover him if I did. I left him to live his life, all the time keeping the glamour up and this, Minho, is the reason my life force drained itself at an exceptionally fast rate. You know, as a Warlock, it is unwise to constantly use your magic, lest you use your life force to fuel it but I chose this as my penance for leaving my friends behind at the hands of rogue Shadowhunters.’  _

That was the reason that Minho had lost Jihoon at a much quicker rate than he had expected. The Warlock had been using his life force to protect Seungmin’s identity, between shrouding his physical appearance and blocking his memories. Woojin couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the elder Warlock’s words but he kept reading nonetheless. 

_ ‘While I could not keep him by my side, there were other ways in which I kept an eye on him. Every week, I would visit the children’s home he lived at to make sure he was doing alright. While he seemed a little introverted and perhaps lost, he was progressing like any normal child would. Though, I constantly feared that he felt out of place, like he should be somewhere else. But I couldn’t reveal my true identity to him and simply watched from afar.  _

_ I also sent Jumun to watch over him at times when I could not. It was a risky idea but that little troublemaker did her job well. They bonded at a very fast rate and Jumun let me know that she was rather fond of Seungmin, just as Jumun was fond of you, Minho.  _

_ In my time, I have researched that night, so many directions it has taken me but I am still in the dark when it comes to what caused the explosion and demon infestation and more importantly, who those Shadowhunters were on that night. Why they were there and how they could murder one of their own like that will perhaps be a mystery to me forever. Trying to keep a low profile did not provide me with many resources and because of that, my own investigation into the matter proved fruitless. Luckily, the Shadowhunters there on that night never came after me and I assume that they did not see me, which was a small blessing since I could keep on protecting Seungmin. I so wished I could have returned him to you sooner, Minho but when shadows still covered that night, I could not allow it. I didn’t know who I could trust. The weak links in the chain of command could have gone all the way up to the Clave in Alicante for all I knew. _

_ Alas, as my time on this earth comes to a close, I do hope that I had enough bravery to tell you the truth for you know that once I pass, my magic will evaporate and Seungmin’s true appearance will return. The block on his memories will also start to come undone but at a much slower rate. The reason I am burdening you with this, Minho is because you will have to find Seungmin and keep him safe. Try to keep him away from the Shadow world if you can for there are still many dangers surrounding the secrets of that night.  _

_ I would also tell you not to snoop into what happened ten years ago but after you read all of this, I think my words will fall on your deaf ears. You care too much for your friends to sit back and do nothing. I am sorry I could not provide you with any useful information that is not already known to many. But my boy, I do not want you to shoulder this alone as I did. It is too much for one person to hold onto by himself and keep their sanity. Find those you can share this with and that will help you. But I warn you, Minho.  _

_ Be careful who you trust.  _

_ My son, I am so proud of you. I hope you know that. Please forgive me for all I have done, for hiding your friend from you and letting you mourn a boy who still lived. Please understand why I did it.  _

_ I am sorry, Minho. _

_ Your loving mentor and father, _

_ Jihoon.  _

If it were a possibility, Woojin was sure that his own heart would have beat right out of his chest if the blood rushing through his ears was anything to go by. He hastily folded the paper and shot his hand out towards Minho, not wanting anything to do with the wretched thing and the information it held. 

“That’s not true. None of that is true. A Shadowhunter wouldn’t do such a thing. We are sworn to protect one another and innocents. Teaming up with demons, letting them run wild and allowing them to harm people? That’s absurd.” 

“Are you trying to say that Jihoon was lying?” 

It would never be a wise thing to insult Jihoon in front of his apprentice and the resentment in Minho’s eyes as he asked for a response from his best friend proved that. Nobody would compare to the elder Warlock in Minho’s world and to insinuate that he had tried to betray or dupe them was surely a mistake. 

“No, Min, I just…you have to realise that this is a lot to take in. I just can’t believe…”

With a little aggression in his gestures, Minho stood and firmly placed his hands on the arms of Woojin’s chair, bending down to look straight into the Shadowhunter’s eyes, never breaking contact.

“If it were Areum writing this letter to you after she had passed, would you believe her?”    


That wasn’t a challenge that Woojin expected the elder to bring up but he knew the reason why. Though neither of them were their true parental figures, both Jihoon and Areum were the closest people they had to a mother or father, even if Woojin’s own father was still alive. That’s why, when Minho asked if he would believe Areum if she has posthumously written a letter explaining the events of Christmas Eve ten years ago, he already knew the answer. 

“Wooj? Would you believe her?” 

“Yes, Min. I would believe her.” 

“Then trust in my instincts when I tell you that Jihoon wouldn’t lie about something like this,” Minho pleaded, kneeling in front of his friend with the letter clasped between his hands. “He wrote this letter to me, Wooj and I know in my heart and soul that he wouldn’t try to deceive me about this. He wanted to protect Seungmin. He wanted  _ me  _ to protect Seungmin and damn it, that’s what I’m going to do, Wooj. With or without you. I just thought you could help.” 

Despite everything within him telling him not to turn his back on his own intuition, Woojin knew that Minho was probably in a worse position than he was. If Woojin wouldn’t help him with this, then he would be in exactly the same place that Jihoon was when he had tried to get to the bottom of all of this by himself. 

“Everyone has darkness within them, Wooj. Not every Warlock is helpful. Not every Mundane is innocent. Not every Shadowhunter is good. You know that as well as I do.  _ Please _ , I need you on this.” 

Tears caused by numerous emotions began to gather in Minho’s eyes, the disgruntlement getting the better of him and allowing his feelings on the subject to show. Woojin urgently joined him on the ground, cuddling him close and letting him know that he would not go through this alone. It wasn’t only his duty to find out what had happened all those years ago because of his job but it was his obligation to assist Minho who had helped him so many times in the past. He was going to support his friend in his time of need. 

“You’ve got me, Min. Always. Look, this is a bit unsettling for me but if Jihoon said that this is what happened…then I believe him too. We’ll figure this out together, ok?” 

Woojin felt shaking arms embrace him, a tiny ‘thank you, Wooj’ whispered so close to his ear that it broke his heart. 

“What are we going to do about this though? I don’t know how far we’ll get with just the two of us,” Minho wondered, using his palms to erase any evidence of tears. 

“Jihoon told us to be careful who we trust, Min. That’s what Seungmin’s dad said too. We have to be so cautious about this.”

Lowering his eyes as if deep in thought, Minho sat himself back on the chaise lounge before clicking his tongue. 

“Who do you think we should tell?” 

“I don’t know if we should involve any Shadowhunters in this yet. If there were some of us there that night, we have no idea who we could talk to about this without alerting those who were involved,” Woojin pondered before listing off who they could include in this under the table investigation. “We could tell Chan about it.” 

That got Minho’s attention, the Warlock instantly looking up but he noticed that Woojin had moved to the other side of the room, standing in front of the window with a preoccupied look on his face. 

“Are you sure?” Minho asked, knowing that Woojin was dead serious about protecting Seungmin and if there was someone that could help them, even Chan, then he would ask for assistance. “Do you want me to talk to him about it?” 

Woojin hesitated before nodding, obviously unsure if he wanted to involve the Werewolf alpha in something this dangerous. Still, with a network of Werewolves stretching far and wide, even within Seoul, Minho knew that Chan was the best chance they had at finding out info from areas that they wouldn’t have access to themselves. 

“What about Hyunjinnie? He was there that night. Someone who was actually at the scene might give us some insight that most people could never even imagine. Even if he thinks something wasn’t pertinent, it could be,” Minho reasoned, seeing another nod of the Shadowhunter’s head before he turned to face him. 

“Alright, we can ask Hyunjin too. As long as he doesn’t tell Seungmin about any of this.”

Laughing with incredulity at Woojin’s funny suggestion, Minho slowly began to realise that Woojin really had no intention of letting the young man who was at the centre of this whole ordeal know anything about it. 

“You’re not going to tell Seungmin? You’re kidding me. How could you not, Wooj?” 

“What am I supposed to say to him, Min?” Woojin seethed with wide eyes. “We  _ just  _ got him back home and now I’m supposed to tell him that one of us killed his father? That some Shadowhunters were in the middle of the demon infestation and didn’t do anything to stop it? That people within our own ranks were the reason he couldn’t be with us for the last ten years?!” 

Minho understood, he really did. He could feel Woojin’s panic from where he sat and the worry about how Seungmin could react to knowing that what he was striving to become was the cause of, not only his parents’ deaths, but so many others too was palpable, to say the least. Still, he couldn’t say he was on board with keeping all of this from him. 

“Eventually, Min. When we find out more, I will tell him but for now, this stays between us, Hyunjin and Chan. I don’t want to tell him when we have no hope to give him.” 

“What about Jisung and Changbin?” 

“No,” Woojin rejected firmly. “Not yet. No Shadowhunters are to be involved in this. And that’s not because I don’t trust them, you know I do but the thoughts of what could happen to them if those involved found out that they knew about this is too much of a risk to take.”

With a dip of his head, Minho could say that he wholeheartedly agreed on that particular point. He knew he had put Woojin in danger by simply telling him all this but he also knew his friend would give up everything he was to help him. Nothing would make him want to put Jisung and Changbin in that situation. Especially not Jisung. 

For a little while longer, they sat in silence before discussing what it was they needed to do and how they should go about it. When all areas were exhausted, Woojin picked up Jihoon’s letter once again and began reading to see if it would inspire him or shed light on something he had missed. 

“Hey, I meant to ask earlier but who is Jumun?” 

“Oh, she was Jihoon’s Spirit Guide. I don’t think you ever saw her before. She’s a shapeshifter. Spent most of her time as a golden retriever. I haven’t seen her since he passed though.” 

It wasn’t needed to be said out loud but Woojin could already tell that Minho missed Jumun since she had apparently disappeared after Jihoon died. He had lost not one but two of those he held close and from the words in Jihoon’s letter, Jumun cared greatly for Minho too, making Woojin wonder why it was she didn’t say goodbye since it was known that Spirit Guides move onto another person to serve once their Warlock has died.

In any case, it really was a testament to how important Minho was to Jumun. Woojin was, of course, very familiar with the idea of Spirit Guides for Warlocks, animal companions with different abilities that assisted them throughout life. He had never actually come into contact with one himself because, not only were they pretty rare but when a Spirit Guide was tied to a Warlock, they were very finicky when it came to revealing themselves to other people, only those they deemed worthy by them being allowed to know their presence. And while they most certainly had their own opinions of people, what their Warlock thought of those around them influenced Spirit Guides greatly. Hence, why Woojin knew Minho was a very important person in both of their lives. 

“How he got her to watch over Seungmin is beyond me. From the sounds of it, Jihoon asked her to do it after he couldn’t visit Seungmin in the children’s home anymore. Maybe when he moved out to live on his own? But how would she do that inconspicuously? Not like some random animal can just walk through the front door of his apartment without it being suspicious.”

Woojin’s eyes widened comically, making Minho wonder what the hell he had said to invoke such a reaction. 

“What about through an open window? Uh, Min, would it be possible for her to, oh, I don’t know, turn into a cat?” 

Shrugging his shoulders with a look that said ‘obviously, she is a  _ shapeshifter’  _ Minho became even more confused when Woojin chuckled lowly as he rose up off of his chair. 

“Come on, follow me. I think there’s something you need to see.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun. And deeper into the darkness we go. A few secrets being brought to light but like Minho said, it probably left them with more questions than answers. And what did Woojin want Minho to see? Talking about some cat? Who could that be? You know, amongst the thousands of cats I have put in this fic. Yeah, I'm not going to try and pretend like that's a secret anymore. See you all next week.


	25. Conciliate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Hope you guys are doing ok. Hopefully I won't be doing this very often but I wanted to put a little note here to clear something up since quite a few people asked about it and I'm sorry I didn't explain it well enough. For the glamour that Jihoon used to mask Seungmin's identity, it only worked from the time he found Seungmin after the attack to the time that Jihoon himself died. As of now, he looks like he did as a kid because he returned to his original appearance just before Jisung and Changbin saved him from the demon. That's why, even though he was living in the same city as them, nobody would have recognised him even if they saw him in the street because of the glamour but it has now worn off. So, yeah, he looks like his original self now. Apologies if I confused anyone but anyways! On we go.

Changbin tentatively sipped on his quadruple shot Americano as he walked around the far too sterile looking electronics shop. If someone had asked him the night before what he would be doing at nine in the morning on one of his only free days during the week, he would not have said trying to buy a cell phone that wasn’t even for him. He would much rather be snuggled up in his bed, drool coming out of the sides of his mouth, snores like a chainsaw filling up the room. Just like it should be. When it came down to it though, his mind didn’t leave him with much of a choice. 

Sprawled out on his bed in a peaceful sleep full of dreams, Changbin was so incredibly comfortable before a sudden weight was upon him, one that scared the shit right out of him and caused him to shoot up with a scream. 

“Sung! What the fuck?!”

“Good morning to you too, beautiful. Time to get up,” Jisung bellowed, still positioned on Changbin’s lap with a smile far too bright for this time of the day. On that note, Changbin turned towards his clock and groaned before wrapping a hand around Jisung’s throat. 

“It is eight in the morning. On my day off. And you’re waking me up. And you’re actually believing that you will live?” 

Faking dramatic gasps and choking sounds as he flailed, Jisung broke free before doing a backwards somersault back onto the floor. 

“You don’t want to be woken up at eight in the morning on your day off? Then tell your new beau to come at a later time.” 

Changbin threw the covers from his bed, legs getting tangled in the sheets and causing him to fall butt first onto the floor as he glanced up at Jisung with wide eyes. 

“Felix is here? Why didn’t you lead with that?!” the raven haired young man shot, already running to his dresser to pick out a clean pair of ripped jeans and white t-shirt. 

“It’s sad that you didn’t try to hide that you knew who I was talking about,” Jisung sighed as he watched Changbin fight with his trousers, placing his right leg into the left hole before cursing loudly and starting over. “It’s no fun teasing you about this crush if you’re going to admit to it.”

In all fairness, Changbin had stopped listening to Jisung the moment he realised that Felix was now in the Institute waiting for him. For what, he had no clue. He had seen the Faerie two days ago after the meeting and Changbin  _ knew  _ he had said that Felix could come back at any time but doing a quick calculation in his head with regards to comparing how much time had passed in the Fae realm compared to the human one, he was sure that not even a full day had gone by for the Faerie before he had come bounding back. Of course, Changbin had no problem that Felix had come back to see him. In fact, it made him rather giddy, the Shadowhunter pushing Jisung out of the way and onto his bed in his haste to leave, the younger’s screams of ‘you suck!’ being the last thing he heard as he rushed to the entrance. 

Why the Faerie’s beauty surprised him every single time that Changbin laid eyes on him was a mystery but Felix really was on another plane of etherealness. With lavender hair pushed back off of his forehead, the young man’s inquisitive eyes were on full display. A baby blue chiffon shirt exposing his collarbones and the twinkling pendant around his neck paired with slim fitting leather pants made Changbin’s jaw go slack before he forcibly shut it himself when he noticed Felix had been alerted of his presence. 

“Binnie! I’m back!” Felix exclaimed with hands shooting up in the air, gaining him befuddled looks from the other Shadowhunters working around them, wondering why a Faerie was making such a fuss so early in the morning. 

“Yes, Lix, I can see that,” Changbin mumbled with a bit of embarrassment, reaching his own hands up to bring Felix’s back down by his side. “Why are you here?” 

That was the wrong question to ask or maybe it was the tone that Changbin had unknowingly held in his self consciousness when those around them were still taking note of what was happening because Felix’s smile immediately fell, hands moving away from Changbin’s quite hastily. 

“You said anytime,” the Faerie whispered. “Did you not mean  _ any  _ time? Did I overstep? Is this too early? Is that why people were looking at me strangely? Should I not have come? Are you mad? I-”

“Woah! Lix, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just curious whether or not you came to see me because you needed something or if it was just to chat. Either way, it’s fine,” Changbin hushed, wondering if this terrified headspace that Felix always entered whenever he was afraid he had interpreted something incorrectly would always remain. 

“Oh. You’re not mad? That’s a relief. I do actually require assistance with something. If you are willing, that is.” 

Not that Changbin would say it outright but he would pretty much do anything for the Faerie. Within reason, of course. When those shining eyes were looking at him with such hope, how could he ever say no? 

And that is how Changbin found himself pursuing cell phones at this time of the morning. Felix had said he wanted another way to contact Changbin other than coming straight to the Institute all the time, even though, every time he would want to contact Changbin, he would have to come to the human realm anyways since the Shadowhunter was sure that the Fae realm would very much be considered ‘out of range’, being in a different dimension and all, with signal and WiFi being a very foreign concept indeed. Felix claimed he knew nothing of technology and asked Changbin if he could help him choose a phone.

Picking up a fairly basic model, since that’s exactly what Felix needed, Changbin considered that he only needed to teach Felix how to call and text him at the moment. Everything else could wait until he got the hang of that. 

“Binnie! Binnie, I need your help!” Felix yelled far too loudly in such a quiet store that only had one cashier working at such an hour. Luckily, the headphones positioned over her ears seemed to have blocked out any of the Faerie’s screaming. 

“Lix? Are you alright?” Changbin worried, already running towards the source of the problem. 

He caught sight of the Faerie, waving his arms frantically at the other to hurry up and join him. As he approached, he saw Felix standing in front of a row of display phones, a rather startled look on his face accompanied by a trembling lip. 

“Binnie. There’s something strange about this store,” Felix muttered in a hushed tone, subtly turning his head to glance at the still too oblivious cashier. “I think there’s some strange magic involved in these devices. I think they’re trapping people inside of them.” 

Changbin literally had no idea how he was supposed to react to that allegation and he was trying his goddamn hardest not to laugh at the Faerie’s distraught face when he made his claim.

“Did you call someone by accident, Lix?” 

With a highly unimpressed look, Felix puffed his cheeks out in annoyance, making Changbin’s heart go pitter-patter. 

“I’m not stupid, Changbin! I know what a phone call is. You have to put in a number to do that, yes?” 

Quickly nodding, not wanting Felix to think he was making fun of him again, Changbin waited patiently to hear what exactly it was the Faerie had done to make him think such a thing. 

“All I did was hold this button and a woman started speaking to me. She seems so lovely too.” 

Felix pressed down on the home button of the cell phone, allowing a small beep to come through the speaker. 

“Hello?” Felix tried with such a hopeful look on his face. 

_ “Good morning.” _

Immediately making a ‘see? I told you!’ face to Changbin, Felix hurriedly turned back to the screen to continue his conversation. 

“Oh, good. Siri, you’re still there.” 

_ “I’m here.”  _

Changbin quite literally had to steady himself on the counter beside him when he realised what was happening. Felix’s innocence when it came to all things human really was extraordinary but Changbin had to keep telling himself that he would probably be the exact same if he were to be dropped in the middle of the Fae realm. Still, he couldn’t find Felix’s cluelessness to be anything but downright adorable. 

“Siri, how are you in there? Were you trapped by a Warlock or something?” 

_ “I’m not sure I understand,”  _ the computer automated voice responded, Changbin wondering if  _ anyone  _ would understand what was happening if they were walking by. 

“They’ve contorted her mind. Binnie, we have to do something!” 

“Yeah, we don’t have to do anything. Thank you, Siri,” Changbin giggled before steering Felix back to where he had been looking at phones earlier. 

“We can’t just leave her there!” Felix stated adamantly, pulling on Changbin’s arm to try and make him see sense. 

“Lix, look at me, silly. Siri is an AI assistant that is built into some phones. You ask her questions, for things like directions or recommendations and she helps you. Watch.” 

Changbin ran up to a different phone from before and held the home button before calling out for Siri. 

_ “What can I help you with?”  _

“Siri, what is a Faerie?” Changbin asked with a smirk, noticing Felix slowly creep up behind him. 

_ “Here’s what I found,"  _ Siri replied in a bouncy voice, displaying an article explaining what Mundanes thought Faeries were. 

It was rife with inaccuracies but it proved his point and that’s really all Changbin wanted. Moving out of the way to show Felix the screen, Changbin noticed the way the young man’s ears had turned blood red, cheeks mirroring the colour perfectly. Having to bite his lip to suppress a coo, Changbin reached out but missed Felix’s arm by an inch as the Faerie moved away and muttered a ‘lets just get out of here.’ 

The walk back to the Institute was silent, despite how hard Changbin tried to start up a conversation. He could tell that Felix was embarrassed about what had happened but he would never hold something like that against the Faerie. He was learning and Changbin said he would always be there to help him so he really shouldn’t have cared so much about this little incident. 

Once they arrived at the door, Felix barely looked at Changbin before muttering a quiet goodbye and beginning to leave before Changbin dragged him back with an enormous smile. 

“Hey, hey. What kind of goodbye was that? Lix, there’s no reason to be ashamed about what happened. You’ve only begun learning about the human world. You’re going to make mistakes and that’s ok,” Changbin soothed, noticing the crimson colour had returned to the Faerie’s face. 

“You must think I’m so stupid. I’m trying to learn about the human realm by myself, reading books and stuff but there’s so much to cover and remember. I’ve never heard of artificial helpers being in phones before. I don’t know, I might be a lost cause.” 

Felix completely deflated with his last sentence, letting out a hefty sigh as he did so. 

It was something that Changbin had easily picked up on, that Felix constantly put himself down and the Shadowhunter couldn’t help but think that it was all the doing of that moronic queen and her subjects that saw Felix as some sort of outsider since his heritage wasn’t ‘pure’ like all of theirs was. 

“Alrighty, let’s go.” 

Changbin didn’t give Felix any time to respond before he was dragging the Faerie through the Institute's front doors, greeting anyone that he passed. 

“You need to quit degrading yourself, Lix. It’s hurting you and it’s hurting me too so I want you to try and stop that.” 

Saying hi to Yugyeom as he walked by, Changbin also noticed Felix giving the other Shadowhunter a slight bow as they continued deeper into the building. 

“You are also not a lost cause. What did I tell you? If you’re having trouble, you come to me and we’ll sort it out,” promised Changbin as he opened the doors to the library, ushering Felix inside. “That’s why we’re here. I’m gonna help you study, ok? Just you and me. No interruptions.” 

The Faerie’s face instantly lit up, whether that was because he saw that Changbin didn’t think he was stupid or that they were having more alone time, the Shadowhunter didn’t know. 

“One more thing,” Changbin said as he lowered his voice to a whisper since he was inside the library, pulling out a small white box. “It’s a decent model and enough for you at the moment since you don’t want a lot of bells and whistles.” 

Opening the lid of the package, Felix pulled out a shiny, new cell phone, gawking at the device before his eyes shot back up to Changbin. 

“You bought this for me?” 

“Yeah, think of it as a gift for me being mean to you on the night we met.”

Barely a second had passed before Felix had his arms wrapped around the Shadowhunter’s neck before joining their foreheads together, a custom that had become so very normal for them now. 

“What did I do to deserve someone like you, Binnie? You’re so incredibly sweet to me. I can’t believe I got so lucky. You’re really one of a kind.” 

The words shot straight to Changbin’s heart, making the red face that the Faerie held earlier transfer straight over to him. Nobody had ever said something so heartfelt to him before and the fact that it was Felix made it mean so much more. The reason for that was pretty obvious to him now. 

“It was nothing, Lix. I’m not special. If anything, it just shows me that you haven’t been treated the way you are supposed to be by those Faeries back in your realm. Come on, let’s find some books for you and if you want, I can check them out for you and you can take them back home to read, alright?”

There was something there in Felix’s eyes when Changbin spoke, when the Shadowhunter gently grasped his hand and interlocked their fingers while they walked towards some of the bookshelves where the books they were searching for could be found. Changbin couldn’t decipher what it was but it was something akin to fondness, something full of raw emotion that made his heart feel serene. 

“Hey, Changbin. How come you’re here so early in the morning?” 

For the first time today, Changbin managed to drag his attention away from the Faerie still holding onto his hand and directed it towards Seungmin instead, the redhead sitting at a table by himself with a ginormous book entitled  _ ‘The Iron Sisters: Those who forge our strength.’  _

“Morning, Minnie. I’m just here to help Lix with some studying about humans. There’s a lot for him to cover so I thought he could use some assistance.” 

With a nod full of complete understanding, Seungmin craned his neck to smile at the Faerie who had partially hidden himself behind Changbin; where this newfound shyness had come from, Changbin didn’t know. 

“Hi, Felix,” Seungmin chirped cheerfully with a tiny wave of his hand. 

“Good morning, Seungmin,” Felix barely whispered, Changbin wondering if the younger Shadowhunter had even heard it. 

“You’re here to study? Me too,” Seungmin drawled, totally not impressed that he was being forced to cram as much information into his head as possible. “There’s so much to cover to become a Shadowhunter. I’m wondering if I’m a lost cause.” 

It was most certainly a coincidence since there was no way that Seungmin could have heard their conversation from earlier but realising that the Shadowhunter was in the exact same position as him made Felix instantly liven up, eyes shining with utter brilliance. 

“Right?! I was wondering that too.”

“You were wondering if I’m a lost cause?” Seungmin asked with an unsure tone but Felix quickly corrected him. 

“No, no, no,” the Faerie babbled, coming out from behind Changbin and positioning himself in the vacant chair beside Seungmin. “I think I’m a lost cause when it comes to learning about humans too. You guys are so complicated. How do you keep up?” 

He wasn’t really sure if Felix had even noticed that he had gone into a full blown conversation with Seungmin in the middle of the library, showing the redhead his new phone and telling him all about his mishap with Siri but Changbin was happy to see him making new friends within the Institute, especially with those who were really important to him. 

Sitting across the table from both young men who had totally disregarded his presence, Changbin simply began flipping through the books he had picked out with Felix, marking the things he thought relevant. He wondered if any studying would actually take place for either of the two straight across from him but in all honesty, speaking with humans would teach Felix more than any book. 

It was not how Changbin thought he would be spending the morning of his day off but he couldn’t truly complain because, all in all, it was a rather great start to what he hoped would be an even better day. 

* * *

Minho let himself be led down the corridors to the bedrooms of the Institute. Despite constantly asking Woojin why they were heading in this direction, towards Jisung’s room, no less, he never received a reply but followed anyways. 

As Woojin stopped in front of the door, Minho felt an uncomfortable twist in his gut. This was indeed Jisung’s room; Minho recognised the two little divots beside the door handle where Jisung had kicked it on the night his parents died out of frustration. But in no way did he want to come face to face with the younger man at the moment. 

Minho still hadn’t spoken to him since he had so rudely bellowed down the phone at him to mind his own business. It had been eating away at the Warlock since he had done it and he  _ so _ wanted to apologise but he knew how sensitive Jisung was and that he had hurt him greatly. Minho had been trying to think of a way to make it up to him but nothing good enough had come into his head just yet. 

A faint sense of relief washed over him when Woojin had to use a key to enter the room, letting Minho know that Jisung wasn’t actually in there at the moment but in another way, it felt wrong entering his bedroom without his permission but the smile drawn across Woojin’s face made Minho’s curiosity get the better of him and he followed the Shadowhunter inside.

Looking around the room as he stepped over a balled up sweatshirt, making Minho roll his eyes at Jisung’s untidiness, he still wasn’t quite sure why Woojin had brought him there but it seemed as if the Shadowhunter wasn’t going to give him any hints, leaning against the doorframe with a dimpled grin. 

After a few moments of investigating by himself, Minho moved closer to the unmade bed, tilting his head at the moving bundle of clothes on top. The Warlock bent down, moving a pair of skinny jeans aside to find a small, golden cat curled up with its tail wrapped around itself. He figured this must be Bomi, the stray cat that Jisung had brought home from Seungmin’s apartment. 

In a moment of sudden clarity, Minho began to wonder why he had been so slow on the uptake, when it was so blatantly obvious where their earlier conversation had been heading. 

“Jumun?” 

Barely above a whisper but apparently significant enough for the feline whose head popped up at the call, the Warlock’s voice wavered as the emerald eyes of the cat stared back at him, ones he had looked into many a time before, even if it wasn’t in this form. 

A breathy ‘woah’ arose from behind Minho, Woojin obviously being mighty impressed when the tiny cat slowly began to morph into the beautiful golden retriever that the Warlock had spoken of earlier. The dog’s tail swished from side to side, ruffling its shiny coat and almost creating a wind with how quickly it moved, letting both young men know how thrilled she was to see her old friend again. Minho didn’t have time to react before he was being pushed into his back and rather disgusting slobbery kisses were being licked across his face. 

“You little shit, Jumun! You’ve been here the whole time?!” 

Minho was trying to portray a stern front but it seemed futile as when he broke into delighted giggles, the canine nuzzling into his chest before laying on top of it with those bewitching eyes staring back at him. 

“So, my hunch was right. This is Jihoon’s Spirit Guide, huh? She’s been going by Bomi around here. Hope she doesn’t mind that.” 

Realistically, Minho couldn’t tell Woojin if she did mind or not since only the Warlock to which they were bound could hear the inner thoughts of their Guide. However, the wagging tail of Jumun let Woojin know that she really didn’t mind at all. 

“You know that most Spirit Guides move onto a new master to help, not keep assisting the ones that have passed, Jumun?” Minho almost scolded, finding it strange but being thankful all the same that she was still looking out for Seungmin even after Jihoon had died and she no longer needed to keep the promises they made to each other. 

“Sung told me that the only reason they found Seungmin on the night the demon attacked him was because they heard meowing and followed the noise. Seems like she did a good job protecting him back then too,” Woojin admitted with a proud tone.

Minho eventually straightened himself, playfully frowning at the dog who whimpered pathetically while putting one of her paws atop her nose to try and portray how ashamed she was for keeping herself hidden from Minho all this time. Even so, the Warlock knew why she had done it. She couldn’t have revealed herself without many a question being asked as to why she was taking up residence in Jisung’s room and watching over Seungmin but it almost seemed as if Jumun knew that Minho was now wise to that information. How? Minho was unsure but he didn’t mind all that much when he had an old companion back with him, one he wrapped his arms around and allowed the golden retriever to rest her head on his shoulder. 

“She’s become a very welcome presence around the Institute. Everyone seems to love her. Has a hell of a lot of mischievousness in her though,” Woojin confessed, observing the splendid bond between his friend and Jumun still situated on the floor. 

“Yeah, she’s always been like that,” Minho snorted before he felt a tug on his coat, Jumun clearly not being impressed that she was being spoken about like she wasn’t there, though Minho muttered that she was really just proving his point by acting like that. 

“Sungie is incredibly fond of her. Seungmin said she was awfully wary of others but warmed up to Sung immediately. I think they’re pretty much inseparable now.” 

A loud bark echoed throughout the room when Jumun wanted to let them know that Woojin was completely right on that front. 

“But it just seems to be Sungie that she’s so close with. Excluding Seungmin, of course. She likes most people but it’s something different with him. I wonder why that is.” 

Minho shrugged his shoulders, feigning ignorance but deep down in his chest, he wondered if it had anything to do with him. He doubted that Jumun could have possibly known about the kind of relationship he had with the younger but then again, he really wouldn’t put anything past the canine so sweetly staring at him as if telling him that she probably knew a lot more than he believed. 

“I think she’ll want to see her promise with Jihoon through. The faster we get to the bottom of this, the faster Seungmin is out of danger and she can move onto the next Warlock to help. Would it be ok if she stayed with Seungminnie and Sung until we do?” 

Not even hesitating to think, Woojin confirmed that he would feel better if Jumun would stay by their sides to protect them in case he could not. That wouldn’t be a problem, to which the canine yipped with such pleasure. 

“Ok, back to your cat form you go. Only Wooj and I know about the Christmas Eve incident, Jumun. Everyone else just needs to think you’re a stray cat for the time being. Seungminnie and Sungie can’t know yet, ok? Not until we figure this out,” Minho warned and was glad to see that Jumun understood when the tiny golden cat once again sat in front of him before hopping back up on Jisung’s bed and curling up to fall back asleep. 

“We better go. Sung has a thing about people being in his room when he’s not here. Gonna be hard to explain why we’re trespassing without giving anything away if he discovers us,” proposed Woojin, letting Minho nuzzle into Jumun’s head once more, a soft ‘I’m glad I found you again’ being whispered before they were running out the door. 

Woojin and Minho shared a few more words, with Minho saying he would call Chan to ask him to meet while Woojin would take care of speaking to Hyunjin. They agreed not to tell them why until they were all together in Minho’s apartment, away from the eyes of the Institute and other Shadowhunters. Woojin promised Minho that he would not be alone, that they would get to the bottom of this so that Jihoon did not protect Seungmin in vain. 

With a final parting hug, they went their separate ways but Minho didn’t get awfully far, opening the front door and bumping chests with Jisung who looked up at him with wide eyes before immediately dropping them to the ground and side stepping out of the Warlock’s way.

“Sorry, Minho.”

The Warlock internally cringed, hating how Jisung hadn’t called him ‘Min’ like he always did, ever since he was a kid. He felt like a complete and utter ass for letting his irritation about the situation with Jihoon get the better of him and for taking it out on his best friend. The fact that Jisung wouldn’t even look at him now really put the cherry on top of this shitty mess. 

Minho actually began to wonder if Jisung was simply apologising for colliding with him just now or for what had happened between them the other night. Either way, he told himself that it was utterly unnecessary for Jisung to be apologising about anything. That’s why he grabbed the Shadowhunter’s hand and pulled him around to the side of the Institute, where Changbin had planted some winter jasmine and witch hazel that were beginning to bloom.

“Sungie, look at me, please.” 

It sounded too much like a demand since Minho was so adamant about sorting this situation out but just as the Warlock was about to correct himself, Jisung’s radiant brown eyes with a slight sheen covering them looked up at him. 

“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, Sung. Do you hear me? What I said to you the other night was completely out of line. You were just trying to make sure that I was ok and you in no way deserved how I spoke to you.”

That was the truth and Minho was praying that his sincerity could be heard through his words. He was unsure since Jisung’s face remained stagnant, nothing but his bright eyes and the tiny jut of his lip giving away how he felt. 

“I’m sorry, Sungie. I was dealing with something the other day and I took my frustration out on you. That wasn’t fair and I promise you it won’t happen again. If you don’t want to forgive me right away, I completely understand. I was a massive tool.” 

A slight quirk to Jisung’s lips made Minho a little hopeful that the younger did indeed believe that he was sorry for what he had said. A further nod of his head made Minho relax significantly, the Warlock being over the moon that Jisung now had a small but gorgeous smile on his face. 

“I forgive you, Min,” Jisung replied softly, angelic features scrunching up even further with his toothy grin. “I was just worried because you sounded a bit off on the phone.”

“I know, Sungie. I was a bit thrown by something but it’s being sorted out so you don’t need to worry anymore, ok?” 

Clasping their hands together, Minho used his free one to swipe across the younger’s cheek, the skin cold to the touch, making Minho wonder how long Jisung had been wandering around in this bitter cold weather, snow threatening to fall. Without much thought, he fixed the collar of the Shadowhunter’s coat and fastened the top button to keep in whatever little insulation he had built up, despite knowing he would be going inside the Institute soon. 

“Hey, Sung. You wanna come over tonight? To make it up to you for missing out last time?” 

“I dunno, Min,” Jisung hesitated, Minho wondering if Jisung had  _ completely  _ forgiven him for how he had acted. 

“I was thinking that maybe I could cook dinner for you. What would you think about that?” 

“But…you’ve never cooked for me before.” 

It wasn’t something that he did often for anyone other than himself and Jihoon when his mentor had come over to visit him. Minho wouldn’t toot his own horn about his culinary skills, because in the end, nobody would listen to him anymore, but he was pretty damn proficient in the kitchen. 

He had never been interested in cooking for his hookups or one night stands, more enticed by what they had come there for in the first place but Jisung wasn’t like anyone else. Jisung was different. Jisung was special, in far more ways than one to Minho. 

“Well, there’s a first time for everything, right? So, how about I use my magnificently skillful hands to treat you to a night you’ll never forget?” Minho sang as he rolled up his sleeves. 

He stopped himself when he noticed Jisung’s face heat up a little and it wasn’t because he had bundled the Shadowhunter up earlier. As it dawned on him how he had phrased his last sentence, he quickly raised his hands in protest. 

“I-In the kitchen! U-using my hands as I cook. For you. With food. My hands…Christ, can I just cook dinner for you?!” 

“Yeah, Min. I would like that a lot,” Jisung cackled, the wide, resplendent smile on his lips making Minho feel ten times lighter than he had at the beginning of the day, all worries and fear for the future disintegrating as the younger’s silvery laugh reached his ears. 

Yeah, Jisung was definitely special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part of this chapter came to me when I accidentally hit the home button on my phone and Siri popped up and I thought to myself, how would someone unfamiliar with technology deal with something like that? Poor Lix. If anyone ever gets a record of my conversations with Siri on my phone, they're going to be super confused since I asked her all of the stuff that Lix did to see what responses she would give.   
Be warned for next week, I don't know how some of you will deal with it. The fluff is too real. Anticipate it! See you all next time.


	26. Simpatico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty. I usually say this in maybe one chapter in each one of my fics. This is your fluffy chapter. Fluff of this level will not be reached again so cherish it while you can.   
Also, model Woojin on Twitter nearly made me scream in work today so that was fun.   
Anyways, on we go.

The sun was high and stunningly bright in the sky today. Birds with mutli-coloured wings and melodic tunes floated above and meandered through the clouds. Children laughed and roughhoused as they quickly walked down the path on their way to school. Everything was so darn beautiful today and it was all because Hyunjin was finally getting to take Seungmin out on their second date. 

Now, some people might call him a hopeless romantic, which he was, absolutely and completely but in all of Hyunjin’s notions about love, the idea of finding someone worth spending your life with never really applied to him. He could see it happening for other people, even within his own friend group. Most recently, he couldn’t help but snicker at the constant texts that Jisung had been sending him lately about Changbin’s new infatuation. He had seen it for himself at the last meeting, the way Changbin had let the Faerie play with his fingers underneath the table, even though both of them thought that nobody had caught on. Hyunjin did though and while he was sure that there was nothing between them,  _ yet _ , he assumed it wouldn’t take long for either Felix to realise that Changbin was looking at him differently or for Changbin to make a move. He could say with honesty that he was always happy when someone found another that they wished to love. 

For Hyunjin, it was just that little bit harder. He had been in relationships, only one or two being serious and some lasting just one date because he knew it wouldn’t work out and he  _ hated  _ dragging people along when there was no hope but all in all, it was because he hated heartbreak, more specifically, his own. People would often joke that the Vampire’s heart couldn’t break since it was no longer beating, a line which was getting exceedingly old but Hyunjin knew from experience that he could hurt just as much as everyone else. 

But Seungmin? Seungmin was peculiar, in the best way possible. Having absolutely no idea what caused him to want to be close to Seungmin, Hyunjin simply let things happen, not knowing how much he would come to simply adore the red headed Shadowhunter who had turned up out of nowhere and spun his life completely on its head. 

They were moving quickly, Hyunjin knew that and if he didn’t, the constant snarky comments coming from his friends would quickly remind him but Hyunjin couldn’t help it. He wanted to be with Seungmin, day and night, twenty four seven and they had only been out on one date. Minho had called him territorial, that was a bit of an exaggeration but was not one of the reasons that the Vampire had asked Seungmin if it was ok to call him his boyfriend. No, most definitely not. 

Anyways, he was going to start this day off on the most positive note he could. Bringing the bouquet of roses, hydrangeas and gardenias up to his nose to inhale the intoxicating aroma, Hyunjin hoped and prayed that Seungmin would like them; he had spent over an hour in the flower shop talking to the very helpful florist about what his boyfriend might like best. Standing outside the door of the Institute, Hyunjin tugged at the collar of his baby blue and white wool sweater, wondering if he looked alright. He did, he looked good, he  _ knew _ he did but he pondered on whether Seungmin would think the same. Hyunjin didn’t know if he liked how he became so goddamn nervous every time he was about to see the Shadowhunter but he couldn’t do anything about the butterflies, or bats as Jisung had once jested while cackling at his own joke, flying around in his stomach. 

Stepping inside the Institute, Hyunjin was rather startled when he was nearly knocked over by Dahyun who turned and bowed with an apology before scurrying off again. Shaking it off, thankful that the flowers hadn’t been damaged, Hyunjin kept to the side of the entrance hallway, watching many Shadowhunters bumble around in a tizzy for some unknown reason. 

Only when he heard Seungmin call out his name did the Vampire drag his eyes away from the hustle and bustle, completely melting when he saw his boyfriend in his little white beret, making him look ever so soft when he had matched it with a pristine turtleneck sweater and fuschia pink coat. If Hyunjin didn’t have a whole day planned out, he would just want to cuddle Seungmin until they fell asleep in each others arms. But he did and he was far more excited about treating Seungmin to a fun day out. 

“Good morning, cutie” Hyunjin bubbled, grabbing one of Seungmin’s hands and pulling him in for a tiny peck on the lips. “These are for you.” 

It seemed as if Hyunjin was in the clear when Seungmin carefully took the bouquet from him and stroked his thumb across the petals, a delightful smile that outshone the flowers beauty settled upon his face. 

“They’re gorgeous, Hyunjin. Thank you so much,” Seungmin gushed shyly, taking a whiff of the delectable scent. “Wait right here, I’m just going to put them in some water in my room.” 

With a nod of his head, Hyunjin proclaimed that he wouldn’t move a muscle until he returned. The Vampire had expected to be alone until Seungmin came back but felt a presence stride up to him without even turning around. 

“What can I do for you on this glorious morning, Wooj?” 

“You’re in an awfully good mood. How did you even know I was here?” the eldest Shadowhunter replied. 

“Now, now, Kim Woojin. Are you trying to tell me, as leader of the Institute, that you have forgotten that Vampires have a much keener sense of hearing than humans like yourself? For shame.”

Hyunjin couldn’t help but snort at the unimpressed look on Woojin’s face but it soon morphed into one of seriousness and Hyunjin knew that it wasn’t a particularly good time to be playing around. 

“What’s up, Wooj?” 

“I need you to attend a meeting with me.”

Tilting his head with a smidgen of confusion, Hyunjin tried to make out when the next get together for their group would be. It wasn’t for a few more days but even then, Woojin didn’t need to remind him to attend. He wasn’t some kid that needed to be looked after. 

“Yeah, Wooj, I know. I’ll be there. I’ve managed to be at every other one so far, haven’t I? There’s no need-”   


“No, Hyunjin,” Woojin interjected. “A different meeting. It’s not official. We’re holding it in Minho’s apartment, just something that is to be kept between a few specific people.” 

“Oh? And who are these specific people?” questioned Hyunjin, wondering why this ‘meeting’ was being held behind closed doors. 

“Myself, you, Minho and Chan.” 

That was a very interesting array of people, especially when it came to the Werewolf alpha but Hyunjin didn’t say anything about it for now, just continuing to guess why Woojin was being so secretive about all of this. 

“You  _ cannot  _ talk about this with anyone else, Hyunjin. Do you understand? Absolutely nobody. Not even Seungmin.” 

It was the way Woojin suddenly lowered his voice that made a strange tingle run down Hyunjin’s spine, like he couldn’t let any of the Shadowhunter’s around him know what he was asking of the Vampire. 

“Woojin, what is this about? Why can’t I tell Minnie about it? You’re kind of worrying me, which is saying something.” 

“I…can’t tell you yet, Hyunjinnie. Just come to his apartment tomorrow night at eight, alright?” 

“Wooj, I-”

“Hi, Minnie. Are you all excited for your date?” 

Hyunjin shut his mouth when he heard Woojin call out to Seungmin, turning to see the younger practically skipping back to them with visible glee. Before Seungmin managed to reach them, Hyunjin gave Woojin one last look, getting nothing but a subtle nod before turning back to the redhead who had linked his arm together with Hyunjin’s. 

“Yep, I really am. Can’t wait to see what Hyunjin planned. Though, I am expecting a lot from him. He’s going out on a date with  _ me  _ after all,” Seungmin snickered, falling into further laughter when he saw the panicked expression on the Vampire’s face. “I’m sure I’ll love it.” 

“No pressure, huh?” Hyunjin chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. “Hey, why is the place so busy this morning? Dahyun nearly mowed me down on the way in.” 

“Oh, Wooj’s dad is coming back in a few days so we’re making sure everything is ready for him,” Seungmin supplied and Hyunjin did not need to hear a single thing more to understand why there was a little bit of hysteria flowing around this morning. 

He couldn’t say he ever had many interactions with Yunseok himself but Hyunjin still held the same dislike, or rather, loathing, for the man that Woojin unwillingly called his father. After hearing how he acted towards pretty much everyone and the way that he treated his son from Changbin and Jisung, there was more than one reason to have some prejudice towards the man. However, he had also been told by Seungmin through their many late night chats that the reason the man was coming back to the Institute was so that he could inspect him himself since he wouldn’t believe that they had found a Shadowhunter they had thought dead for ten years until he saw him with his own eyes. 

In a way, he knew there was nothing to worry about because neither his friends nor Areum would ever let anything unsavoury happen to Seungmin while they were around. The idea of trying to get through that rabid pack of wolves set Hyunjin’s heart to a tranquil state. Still, he felt for Woojin when he knew that the Shadowhunter saw the need to try and make sure that his father couldn’t pick out anything to scold him about by having everyone running around and getting everything ready. With a sympathetic smile, Hyunjin nodded his head, letting Woojin know that he was both there for him if he should so need it and that he would see him the following night at the meeting. 

“Alrighty, are you ready to go?” 

“Yes! Let’s go already!” Seungmin whooped, already beginning to drag the Vampire through the front door. 

“Have fun, you two. I’ll see you at…some point, I guess, Minnie,” Woojin laughed, already knowing exactly what Hyunjin had planned for today and that he had no idea when the younger would be getting back to the Institute. 

Walking down the empty sidewalk, Hyunjin interlocked his fingers with Seungmin, garnering him a wonderful smile from the young man beside him. 

“So, where are we going first?” 

“I can’t tell you something like that. It’s a surprise. You’ll see when we get there. Destination number one, here we come!” 

* * *

The thumping of balls hitting off the booth backdrops, the jingling of change, the numerous pings of the gaming machines going off around them made Seungmin’s inner child squeal with excitement. There had been only one occurrence when he had gone to a gaming arcade before when he was in the children’s home but it hadn’t been all that fun. They had been taken there as a special day out and were all given ten thousand won each. However, all of the other kids paired off and played against each other in racing games or first person shooters and of course, since Seungmin was a self inflicted outcast, he just bumbled around the arcade, playing with the claw machine until he ran out of money, not even getting anything for all of his efforts. 

This time, it would be different. All because Hyunjin was beside him. 

“Ok, stop number one on ‘Minnie’s fabulously wonderful extraordinary day of spectacular fun’ is here! Which I hope is ok…” Hyunjin trailed off after his rather dramatic opening, eyes looking softly at Seungmin as he awaited some sort of reaction from the younger. 

“This is great, Hyunjin. I’ve never really had a chance to play in an arcade before,” Seungmin chirped, not bothering to tell the Vampire about his rather glum experience as a kid. “Which one do you want to play first?” 

“I do believe that’s your call. This is your day after all.” 

Rolling his eyes while trying to hold back on a grin, Seungmin conceded defeat, knowing that the whole day was going to be Hyunjin bringing him places but probably letting him make the decisions. 

“Ok, then, let’s play this one,” Seungmin sang, pulling on Hyunjin’s hand to lead him towards the basketball hoops on the wall but was stopped when the Vampire ushered him back. 

“How about we make these games a little bit more interesting?” 

“What did you have in mind?” Seungmin quizzed, unsure whether he liked the sinister glint in the elder’s eyes. 

“For every game I win, you have to give me a kiss, right here.” 

Hyunjin tapped his puckered lips three times with his index finger, fluttering his eyelashes before Seungmin gently slapped his cheek and turned his head to the side. 

“That sounds like a truly terrible punishment. What do I get if I win?” Seungmin giggled as Hyunjin pulled him close and brushed their noses together. 

“Uh, you get to be kissed by me, duh? That’s the way this game works, Minnie.” 

In the end, it really didn’t matter what Seungmin’s reward would have been if he had won because Hyunjin was one ruthless opponent when it came to playing any form of game. 

Basketball? Hyunjin won. 

Shooting games? Hyunjin won. 

Air hockey? Hyunjin won. 

Racing games? Everyone could see where this was going. 

Each and every time they completed a game with Hyunjin having the highest score, the Vampire immediately ran over to his boyfriend, shutting his eyes tight and letting his lip protrude, a sure sign of what he wanted. And who was Seungmin to do anything but indulge him? Cupping the elder’s face, Seungmin left a light peck on his lips, definitely keeping it PG when they were out in public like this, even though Hyunjin pouted and whined each time he pulled away. 

“Minnie! Come over here! Which one do you want?” 

Coming away from the target practice booth, Seungmin skipped over to the claw machine, seeing it full of stuffed toys, recognising some from kids shows like Pororo, Tobot and Dooly. After some serious thought, he told Hyunjin to try for the Pororo plushie because he said it reminded him of Jisung when he wore his glasses, making the elder huff in agreement. 

Seungmin didn’t really know if the word ‘try’ was in Hyunjin’s vocabulary because he managed to grasp the little bespectacled penguin on the first go, the claw grabbing him up and depositing him in the hole as the machine lit up and played a fanfare noise. 

“You  _ cannot  _ possibly be this good at everything,” Seungmin scoffed as Hyunjin handed him the stuffed animal with a proud smile. “You’re so annoying.”

The Vampire’s face fell at Seungmin’s words and he had to wonder if Hyunjin knew that what he had just said was a joke. Surely he did, that Seungmin would never insult him like that but the self conscious pout adorning his face made the younger doubt it.

“Hey, I was only kidding, Hyunjin. I’m sorry, it was just a joke but I still shouldn’t have said it.” 

The problem cleared itself up surprisingly quickly when Hyunjin sniffled mockingly before tapping his lips thrice again. Seungmin scolded himself for his own naivety and punched Hyunjin square in the chest for making him worry that he had unknowingly offended him. Still, he leaned forward and kissed the Vampire, letting this one last just that little bit longer than the others until they both heard an elongated ‘eww’ beside them, separating to see a group of kids making disgusted faces at them and covering their eyes to protect what little innocence they had. 

“We should probably get out of here,” Seungmin snickered, pulling on Hyunjin with his free hand, the other safely cradling Pororo closely to his chest. 

“Give it ten years, kids! You’ll have someone you’ll want to kiss everyday too!”

“Hyunjin! Shut up!”    


The Vampire continued to cackle behind him, Seungmin’s ears heating up at a surprisingly fast rate. 

“So, does the date end here or what?” Seungmin inquired, walking in no particular direction since they had no idea where they were going, clutching the Pororo stuffie close. 

“Oh, Minnie. The day is just beginning.”

* * *

After Seungmin and Hyunjin had grabbed a bite to eat at the most adorable little coffee shop, where Seungmin had ordered a strawberry tartlet and hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream, the Vampire told them that they had to hurry since the next surprise had a set schedule. That’s how they found themselves in front of a charming, fanciful little bar that had velvet ropes and two rather terrifying looking bouncers standing out front. The street itself was pretty desolate and Seungmin had to wonder why there was so much security for such a small place that nobody wanted to enter other than them. 

“So, a few friends of mine are playing a private gig here. I thought it might be fun to relax and listen to some music for a while. Maybe talk with them afterwards?” Hyunjin chattered as he walked up to the door, fistbumping both of the bouncers who broke their facade and smiled at him, fangs poking out of their mouths as they did so. 

“That sounds like fun. Who are your friends? Would I know their stuff?” Seungmin asked, securely wrapped around the Vampire’s left arm as he also threw a polite greeting to the two burly men. 

“I’m not sure. Do you know Day6?” 

Seungmin completely halted, making Hyunjin stumble backwards and glance at him to ask what had happened but when he saw the look of unadulterated shock on his face, he already knew. 

“You…you’ve got to be kidding me. You know Day6?! _The _Day6?!” Seungmin practically screamed while grabbing onto Hyunjin’s forearms. 

“Ah, good. Jisung mentioned he heard you listening to them while studying one day. You’re a fan, yeah?” Hyunjin grinned while trying to drag Seungmin into the next room.

“Fan? No, I am gone  _ way  _ past simply being a fan. I am practically the president of their fanclub!”   
  


Shakes began to wrack Seungmin’s body but it was the good kind; something comparable to when you were riding a roller coaster that was going at breakneck speed. He was going to meet his idols, someone who meant the absolute world to him, who had done a hell of a lot for him without even knowing who he was. 

“You know their new album is coming out next month, yeah?”

Of course Seungmin knew. What kind of fan would he be if he hadn’t already marked the day of the album release on his phone’s calendar, even before this whole Shadowhunter business had started? 

“Well, they’ll be playing some of their new songs here today. There’s a few more people coming and they’ll be asking for our opinion afterwards,” Hyunjin sighed when once again, Seungmin pulled him back to stop walking. 

“I’m sorry, are you trying to tell me that I am going to be one of the first people in the  _ entire world _ to listen to Day6’s new songs?” Seungmin squealed, having absolutely no control over his body anymore when he began bouncing in place, not even paying attention to other people that had begun to arrive and look at them with a hint of worry in their features. 

“Yes, Minnie. You will be one of the first. Do you like this surprise?” 

That was possibly one of the most idiotic questions that Hyunjin would ever ask in his immortal life since Seungmin had made it abundantly clear about how he felt about this stop on their day of fun already. If he was still unsure, the way the Shadowhunter grabbed his cheeks and pulled him in for a bruising kiss would eradicate any doubt the elder had. 

“How do you even know them?” Seungmin asked when he had finally managed to compose himself enough to enter the viewing area. 

The bar was quite lovely, the ambiance calm and romantic from the dim lighting. The walls were covered from top to bottom in pictures of famous celebrities who had performed there and memorabilia that Seungmin could only dream of owning. Finding a table to the side of the small stage but close enough where they could see everything, Seungmin pulled his legs up on the settee and snuggled into Hyunjin’s side as the elder slung his arm around the Shadowhunter’s shoulders. 

“I’ve known Jae for a really long time. You could say I was one of the group’s very first fans.”

Maybe he was becoming acclimated to the Shadow world very quickly but Seungmin caught onto what Hyunjin had tried to insinuate even though he hadn’t given a specific hint towards it. 

“Wait, are you trying to say that Jae isn’t an ordinary human?”

“I’m trying to say that he’s a Vampire, Minnie,” Hyunjin snickered as the younger’s eyes blew so wide it was pretty amusing. “All of them are a part of the Downworld. Younghyun and Dowoon are Werewolves, Sungjin is a Warlock and Wonpil is a Wild Faerie.”

“You’re fucking kidding me!” Seungmin shrieked at the revelation, apologising to the people sitting next to them who jumped at the Shadowhunter’s yells. 

“Nope, I most certainly am not. Now, hush and sit down, it’s starting.” 

The five young men that Seungmin had grown up idolising stood in front of them, instruments in hand, ready to put on one hell of a show for their selective audience that only consisted of about seventy or eighty people. 

“Hey, everyone. Thank you for coming today. We’re going to be playing some of our new tunes on our upcoming album soon but we’re going to warm up with a few of our classics first,” Sungjin beamed through the applause, the loudest, of course, being Seungmin’s who still couldn’t believe that he was actually so close to the musical loves of his life. 

Gentle piano chords came through the speakers, courtesy of Wonpil who already looked to be immersed in the music. Seungmin immediately recognised the song to be one of his favourites, ‘ _ I Need Somebody.’  _ As Jae’s soothing vocals began the song, Seungmin was already mouthing along the lyrics with the sandy haired man. 

_ ‘Hello there, is anyone there? _

_ Where is? _

_ Is there anyone to answer me? _

_ Is anyone there? _

_ You’re fading away from me, _

_ Without a sound and without a reason. _

_ Was everything just a misunderstanding? _

_ Did we only meet each other in a dream?’ _

It was an emotional song to be sure but it hit very differently for someone like Seungmin, someone who had grown up knowing that he belonged somewhere else, that those around him could never understand how he felt. That the family he could barely remember had forsaken him, even if he didn’t know the reason for it as a child. That he desperately wished for someone to find him, to save him from the harrowing loneliness.

_ ‘Why am I alone? _

_ Amongst all the people surrounding me. _

_ Why am I alone? _

_ I'm all alone, I need someone, _

_ I need someone right now.’ _

A song that he used to sing to himself as he lay in bed in the dark of night, when everyone around him had already fallen asleep because it was nice to know that he wasn’t the only one in the world that was feeling this way. That despite being surrounded by others, he felt more isolated than ever because the right people weren’t beside him anymore. Hazy images of those who could have possibly loved him but had left him all the same torturing him so much every night that he could never fall asleep. Ghosts of his past haunting him and calling out his name. 

_ ‘Hello, is anyone there? _

_ Anyone who can accept me? _

_ Is anyone here? _

_ Come to me, without a sound. _

_ Hold me, without a reason.’ _

“Minnie? Hey, cutie, why are you crying?” 

Seungmin broke out of his reminiscent daze, turning towards his boyfriend’s voice as Hyunjin gently cupped his face and wiped away the tears that he hadn’t even realised had begun to fall. 

“Oh, sorry. I…don’t really know,” Seungmin sniffled, trying to crack a smile when Hyunjin was looking at him with such heartache. “I used to listen to this song a lot growing up. I think I found the lyrics to be pretty relatable since I always used to feel so alone despite being surrounded by people.” 

At the explanation, Hyunjin pulled Seungmin towards his chest, placing a tender kiss upon his red locks and hugging him tight as the song continued to play in the background, with Wonpil’s honeyed vocals flowing throughout the room. 

“But I just realised, I don’t identify with them now. I’ve found people who care about me. It doesn’t feel like I’m alone anymore,” Seungmin whimpered, a fresh wave of tears streaming down his face before Hyunjin tried to kiss each one of them away. 

“You’re not alone, Minnie and you never will be again. I will always be here for you. Your family at the Institute will always be by your side. We’ll protect you with everything that we have, I promise,” Hyunjin vowed, curling his arms around Seungmin and allowing the young man to bury his face in his chest as everyone clapped at the end of the song. 

The tears of sorrow soon faded when the band decided to play more upbeat songs, easing in to some of their new tunes which had Seungmin hopping up and down in his seat, making Hyunjin practically dizzy with captivation when he saw how elated the younger was while listening to his favourite musicians. Once the show was over, people began to leave but Hyunjin carefully grabbed Seungmin’s hand, beginning to lead him towards the back of the stage so that they could talk with the younger’s idols. 

“Do I look ok? Is my hair a mess? How about my breath? I can’t believe I cried. Now my eyes are all puffy!” Seungmin whined, trying to get the invisible creases out of his sweater. 

“You look stunningly beautiful as always, Minnie. Don’t worry about it. Jae!” 

Standing up so straight that his spine let out a very audible crack, Seungmin looked up to see Jae waving back at Hyunjin before running over to both of them. 

“Hyunjinnie! So glad you could come,” Jae effused, high fiving the other Vampire when he drew close. “And I see you’re not alone.”   


Seungmin tried to greet his idol, he so desperately tried but he couldn’t seem to find the words to accurately express what Jae and the rest of the group actually meant to him, what they had done for him. Luckily, Hyunjin saw that he was starstruck and spoke up on his behalf. 

“This is my boyfriend, Seungmin. He is a massive fan of you guys.”

“Well, he definitely has good taste. Hi, Seungmin. I’m Jae.” 

“Y-yes, I know who you are. It’s so incredible to actually meet you. This is amazing, I can’t believe you’re actually standing in front of me like this. Your music got me through some really tough times growing up. I can’t thank you enough for that,” Seungmin rambled, receiving affectionate looks from both Vampires in front of him. 

“You’re very sweet, Seungmin. I’m glad we could help in some little way. What did you think of our new tracks?”

Not that anyone could stop him but Seungmin went on for close to twenty minutes about each of the tracks, what they caused him to feel, what he thought of the lyrics and the composition overall. As he prattled on, Seungmin turned every so often to smile at Hyunjin fondly before turning back to Jae as the others began to join them and introduce themselves. 

“Thank you for coming again, Seungmin. Always nice to meet a fan as lovely as you. Oh, one more thing before you go,” Jae wheezed as he leaned backwards in his chair to grab something from one of the desks. “Here you go.” 

A signed copy of their new album was placed into Seungmin’s hands, the redhead becoming completely dumbstruck and begging himself not to cry again because, damn, that would be terribly embarrassing to start wailing in front of your idols. Managing to keep some sort of dignity, Seungmin simply held out his hand for Jae and the others to shake before they bid each other goodbye with Jae telling Hyunjin that they should all meet up again sometime when they could sit down and chat properly, only making Seungmin want to scream at the top of his lungs just at the thought of that possibility. 

Leaving the bar as evening began to descend and the wind had picked up, Seungmin dragged Hyunjin to the side of the path, hugging him so tight that the Vampire had to tap him on the shoulder to lessen his grip for fear of broken bones. 

“That was the  _ greatest  _ thing to ever happen to me! Thank you so much! Seriously, nothing will top this!” Seungmin squeaked with far too much enthusiasm as he stared at his signed album. 

“Now, now, there’s still one more stop on our day of fun, Minnie,” bubbled Hyunjin as he took the younger’s hand in his own and led them down the street. “I’m interested to see what you’ll think about it.” 

* * *

Clouds began to shroud the night sky, ebony and threatening which made both young men break into a sprint to get to their next destination for fear of being caught up in a downpour. Hyunjin was once again silent on his last surprise but as they walked to the edge of the city, they came upon the planetarium that Seungmin had visited once or twice on school outings. 

“What are we doing here?” Seungmin queried, feeling a cold prick upon his nose, looking upwards seeing snow beginning to fall. 

Before Hyunjin got to answer, a figure emerged from the front doors or the planetarium, throwing them both a smile. 

“You’re here. Everything’s set up inside for you, just like you asked. Please make sure to lock up when you’re done.” 

The adolescent looked to be maybe two or three years younger than Hyunjin, pitch black hair being dotted with the snowflakes coming from above. Once again, Seungmin saw the faint outline of fangs when the youngster grinned towards them. 

“Thanks, Soobin,” Hyunjin chirped as Soobin threw him the keys. “I appreciate all the help.” 

“Anything for you, boss. Wow, you weren’t kidding. He is really cute.” 

Seungmin flushed at the Vampire’s words, the tips of his ears burning as Hyunjin swatted at the other boy to chase him off with a loud warning. 

“Another friend of yours?” asked Seungmin as they walked inside out of the bitter weather, Hyunjin locking the front door behind them.

“Soobin is a part of my clan. He owns this place.” 

“He owns the planetarium? He’s a kid!”

“He’s a Vampire and also one hundred and twenty years older than you, Minnie,” Hyunjin teased while booping Seungmin’s nose. 

Remembering the classes on astronomy he had attended as a kid, being fascinated by all of the constellations and planets, Seungmin wondered what exactly it was Hyunjin had brought him here for, praying that it wasn’t for a lecture. He had quite enough studying to do by himself about the Shadow World, thank you very much. 

“Do you tell all of your clan that I’m cute?” Seungmin shot back, being able to give as good as he got. 

“All the damn time. You seem so surprised by that. I literally call you cutie every chance I get.”

Extending his hand for Seungmin to take, Hyunjin interlocked their fingers before pushing open two giant doors and leading them into a room, somewhere that made Seungmin fall speechless for the umpteenth time today. 

The domed ceiling sparkled with a thousand holographic stars, moving across the galaxy and reflecting themselves in Seungmin’s eyes. Relaxing, smooth jazz played in the background, each of the piano’s chords causing trills in the Shadowhunter’s heartbeat. The stage at the top of the room had been cleared out and a small table with lit candelabras and roses had been placed there, calling on the two young men that had entered the room to take a seat. A delectable whiff of something underneath the cloches reached Seungmin as he came closer to the stage, Hyunjin guiding him down to sit before going to the opposite side and revealing a plate of steaming, well done steak and a medley of vegetables, with a chocolate torte for dessert. 

“Our last stop on our day of fun is here where absolutely nobody will disturb us,” Hyunjin breathed, pouring Seungmin a glass of wine since the Vampire’s was already full with blood, thanks to Soobin. “I thought you might like something more private, away from the hustle and bustle since you probably haven’t had very much time to yourself lately.” 

Seungmin simply stared up at the makeshift sky, marvelling in the constellations of the glimmering stars before looking back down at his plate, not making any move to pick up the cutlery and start eating, even though he was pretty famished. 

“What’s wrong?” Hyunjin hesitated as he placed the wine bottle back on the table. “Oh, gosh, do you not like steak? I should have asked if you did or not but I wanted to surprise you. Damn, you don’t have to eat it, just-”

“Hyunjin…” Seungmin stopped him hastily, his own glistening eyes meeting the Vampire’s distressed ones. “That’s not…I’m just a little bit overwhelmed is all.” 

“Overwhelmed? How come? Are you uncomfortable with it just being the two of us? Would you have preferred a normal restaurant? 

“What? What are you talking about? Why would I be uncomfortable being alone with you?” Seungmin asked in disbelief. “Hyunjin, this is the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me and I’m not just talking about this.” 

After Seungmin had gestured to everything around him, the stars above included, he brought his chair to fit in beside the Vampire who was still looking at him with a tinge of doubt in his features. 

“Every single thing we’ve done today: the arcade, the coffee shop, the concert, talking with your friends, walking through the city, this meal you’ve prepared in the most stunning place possible, you thought of me the entire time, what it was that I would have liked to do. I haven’t ever experienced something like this before. Nobody has treated me like this. For you to think so much about how you could make this day special and all about me, it’s just…overwhelming but in such an amazingly splendid way. I don’t know how I could ever thank you for it, Hyunjin.” 

Leaning forwards, Seungmin captured Hyunjin’s lips again, thumbs sweeping across his jawline as he felt the Vampire kiss him back as gently as he could. This was different from all the other intimate moments that they had already shared that day. The kisses at the arcade were full of fun with a hint of pettiness when Seungmin lost all of the games. The kisses when Hyunjin had revealed they would be seeing Seungmin’s idols were full of intensity and excitement for the upcoming concert. The kisses on the Shadowhunter’s cheeks when his emotions about his past had become too much were full of heartache, trying to fix his hurting soul. 

This? This was full of nothing but thankfulness and adoration, warm and devout, deep and appreciative, hopelessly romantic. Something that Seungmin never wanted to share with anyone other than Hyunjin. 

“This is the second time you’ve thanked me at the end of our dates but there is no reason to, Minnie because you deserve nothing less than to be treated this way,” Hyunjin proclaimed, kissing the tip of the Shadowhunter’s nose before ushering him back to his original position to eat the food that was quickly beginning to go cold. 

“You’re not going to eat?” Seungmin questioned but slapped his own forehead when Hyunjin held up his glass, reiterating that he couldn’t stomach human food anymore but that he was quite happy with what he had. 

Sitting back with a content sigh, Seungmin patted his full tummy, making Hyunjin giggle before standing and taking the younger’s hand to lead him to a free space in the centre of the room. Clicking a small remote in his hand, Hyunjin pulled Seungmin towards his chest when Day6’s  _ ‘I’ll try’ _ replaced the earlier music, swaying them both from side to side as he clasped one hand with Seungmin’s and placed the other protectively around his waist. 

_ ‘Although I’m lacking, _

_ With a face full of unwavering love, _

_ Always supporting me, _

_ Now, I have come to understand this love. _

_ _

_ Just like I was loved as I am, _

_ Just the way you are, _

_ I’ll hold you, _

_ I’ll accept you, _

_ I’ll try.’ _

Nothing was said between the two young men as they moved slowly in place, Seungmin’s head placed upon the taller’s shoulder, eyes closed and listening to the promise held in the words of the song. 

_ ‘When things are hard, _

_ You can lean on me and rest, _

_ I wanna be on your side all your life, _

_ Trying to understand you.’ _

Feeling Hyunjin’s cheek rest upon his head, Seungmin allowed a lazy smile to grace his lips, their bodies flowing with the slow tempo of the music, never wanting such a moment to end. Just the two of them, time stopping this instant in place, the outside world of no importance to them, hearts beating as one because, funnily enough, that’s exactly what it sounded like as Seungmin’s ear was pressed to the elder’s chest. 

“Thank you for such a perfect day, Hyunjinnie,” whispered Seungmin, afraid that if he raised his voice, the moment would shatter and disappear. 

“No problem, cutie. I can’t wait to show you how much you deserve things like this in the future, that I will always be here to let you know how special you are and remind you that you are not alone.”

Wrapping his arms around the Vampire’s neck, Seungmin pressed a soft kiss to Hyunjin’s cheek, burying his face in his chest again and wondering how he got so lucky, if fate had played a role in allowing him to find someone like Hyunjin to heal the scars of his previous life.

The sombre lyrics from his past… 

_ ‘Hello, is anyone there? _

_ Anyone who can accept me? _

_ Is anyone here?’ _

The reassuring lyrics for his future… 

_ ‘Just the way you are, _

_ I’ll hold you, _

_ I’ll accept you, _

_ I’ll try.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone could kindly direct me to someone like Hyunjin, I would greatly appreciate it. Some advancements in the story with regards to the Christmas Eve incident to come next week along with a little Jeongdam. See you then!


	27. Clemency

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we're going to start back into the main storyline again here. Of course, I promised you all a little Jeongdam too.  
Also, thank you guys for getting this story to 10k views already! I really appreciate every single one of you and all of the comments you guys have left have really kept me going on this. So, thank you! Ok, let's go.

Chan had given him a couple of days to think about it, just like he said he would but Jeongin still hadn’t changed his mind about wanting to see Yedam. Now, he was wondering if he should have. 

“Innie, you can still walk away if you need to. We can go back home right now if you’re not ready,” Chan instited, obviously knowing about the inner turmoil that the younger wolf was dealing with. 

“No, no, we’ve come this far. We’re already here, I need to do this. For me.”

If for nothing else but closure, Jeongin needed to see Yedam again. He had barely gotten any sleep the night before, the tiredness not doing anything to help his anxiety about this whole ordeal. There were so many routes he could take when he saw his old boyfriend and Jeongin still hadn’t decided which one he wanted to walk down but settled on doing what his heart told him to when he met Yedam again. 

Jeongin knew that if he kept putting this off, he would end up running away with his tail between his legs. Literally. So, not thinking about it any more, he knocked on the door in front of him, his chest constricting painfully when he realised what was about to happen. A hand on the small of his back grounded him, glancing over his shoulder to see Chan with a reassuring smile before they both stood to attention when the door opened to reveal a very fatigued and run down looking Yedam. 

“J-Jeongin. You came,” the young Mundane said softly, bloodshot eyes watering a little but Jeongin didn’t know if he should put that down to the obvious exhaustion that the other was dealing with or the fact that he was currently being buried under countless emotions. 

“Yeah,” Jeongin deadpanned, his anger, sorrow, longing, happiness and weariness all conflicting with one another and making him unsure how he was supposed to react. 

“I’ll leave the two of you alone,” Chan chimed in, knowing that Jeongin needed to do this by himself, no matter how much he wanted to stay. “I’ll just be down the hall in case anything happens.”

If Jeongin had given Chan any notice, he would have seen the alpha glare at Yedam, eyes growing scarlet as a firm warning that nothing objectionable would be happening to the young man under his care while he was around and if Yedam tried any funny business, nobody would be able to locate his body after Chan was done with him. 

However, Jeongin didn’t see this since he was far too busy staring at Yedam’s shaking hands, fingers offhandedly picking at a loose piece of skin beside his thumbnail; a habit that he hadn’t lost from the last time Jeongin had seen him. 

“Do…do you want to come in?”

Yedam’s voice brought him back to the present, Jeongin not even noticing that Chan had already retreated down the hallway and was leaning against the wall while scrolling through his phone but his attention still firmly on the two young men standing in the doorway of Yedam’s apartment. 

“I guess so,” Jeongin faltered but took four short strides so that he was now alone with Yedam in the younger man’s home. 

“I’m sorry, Chan didn’t tell me that you guys were coming. The place is a bit of a mess,” Yedam jabbered, bumbling around the room while picking up stray items of clothing, empty water bottles and wiping crumbs off of the small coffee table beside the couch. 

Jeongin noticed that Yedam seemed to have set up camp in the living room, his comforter and pillows perched on the sofa. Upon looking out of the corner of his eye into the younger’s bedroom, Jeongin noticed that it looked like it hadn’t been used but he also noticed there wasn’t a tv in there like there was in the living room and that’s when he remembered that Yedam always had a problem falling asleep if there wasn’t some form of noise and light; his fear of the dark paralysing him at times. 

From the looks of it though, it seemed like Yedam wasn’t getting any sleep, regardless of whether or not he had something to lull him into a state of unconsciousness. Jeongin had spent many a night curled around Yedam with the shine of a night light illuminating the younger’s room, talking to him in hushed whispers until he fell asleep. Jeongin was now beginning to wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that Yedam would have been able to see demons as a child, something that the majority of his family had probably told him were only from storybooks, despite him knowing for a fact that they were real and probably crawling around in the darkness of his room. 

“He seems to really care about you though. I’m glad that you found such a great alpha.”

That made Jeongin’s head snap up, finding himself almost laughing at how easily Yedam spoke about the Shadow world, about Jeongin and his alpha, as if it were simply small talk. 

“Yedam,” Jeongin began, getting the younger man’s attention as he stopped flying around the room trying to tidy up, an obvious distraction from having to look at Jeongin’s face. “Can you not talk to me like nothing has happened since the last time we saw each other?” 

It came out rather harshly and Jeongin really couldn’t tell if he wanted to scream at Yedam for what he had done or just leave this whole mess behind him. Regardless of any other feelings, Jeongin had missed Yedam. That, he couldn’t deny. The younger reminded him of his old life, of friends and family he had left behind, of beautiful memories that they had shared together. Yedam was the closest thing to home he had but the foundations of that had been cracked and there was a miniscule susurration in a dark corner of his mind that was telling him he had been betrayed by an influential and necessary person in his former life.

“Chan told you everything?” Yedam wondered in a tiny voice but already knew that he had from Jeongin’s demeanor. “Jeongin, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to make light of what happened. You have to understand that it was never my intention to let anything terrible to happen to you, Seojun or your parents.” 

With bottom lip beginning to tremble with great ferocity, Jeongin could see that Yedam was on the verge of a breakdown, the smell of burnt popcorn starting to fill up the room as Jeongin tilted his head at the strange scent that Yedam’s distress let off. 

“But it did,” Jeongin deflected, begging his inner wolf to shut up and be quiet when it began to whimper pathetically when it sensed a friend in pain. 

“I know. I know, Jeongin and you will never understand how deeply,_ terribly _ sorry I am for never saying anything. I was foolish and ignorant and naive when I thought that Seojun would be able to control his wolf without any help. I was scared,” whispered Yedam, large, glistening tears beginning to fall, past the dark, visible bags beneath his eyes. 

As he lay in bed the past couple of nights, Jeongin had told himself that countless times, that Yedam must have been so completely terrified of Seojun, that Yedam’s mother, father and little sister could have been the ones lying dead in an alleyway instead of his own parents and after seeing what his own brother did on that horrific night, he would never _ ever _wish that on anybody else, let alone his best friend in the entire world. 

“And you can hate me for the rest of your life if you need to because I already hate myself but I just wanted to make sure you were doing ok. And it seems like you are. You look well,” Yedam gulped, forcing a smile that decimated Jeongin’s waning heart. “I didn’t come here to destroy the life you’ve made with Chan and your pack. I’ll be heading back to Busan straight away now that I know you’re being taken care of.”

Even though he hadn’t mentioned it in any way, Jeongin knew that had been one of Chan’s fears when he had told him about meeting with Yedam, that his friend’s appearance would unearth too many reminders of his old life and wreck what he had built here in Seoul. Even though the initial news had caused him to become rather submissive, his pack had taken great care of him and he managed to regain his sensibility and think things through logically.

“That’s it really. I just needed to let you know how sorry I was and that I in no way expect you to forgive me but that I still needed to say it. You won’t have to worry about seeing me again. Just…thank Chan for me, for allowing me to apologise and to say goodbye.” 

“You’re not giving me a choice in all of this?” 

Yedam paused wiping his cheeks to free himself of the painful tears continuing to fall, frowning at Jeongin with complete bewilderment at his sudden question.

“What do you mean?” 

“A choice. About whether or not I want to see you again,” Jeongin continued with a shrug of his shoulders. 

Obviously not expecting that response, Yedam left a quick, disbelieving bark of laughter go, Jeongin’s expression unwavering, making it clear that he was not making a joke like Yedam seemed to believe. 

“What choice could you possibly need to make?” the younger scoffed, evidently thinking that he in no way deserved any second chances when it came to their relationship, despite wanting nothing more in the entire world.  
  


“I…don’t hate you, Yedam.” Jeongin confessed, rubbing the stiffness out of his neck with his gaze set firmly on the other young man’s feet. “I could never hate you.” 

“You don’t?” 

“No, Yedam. I don’t.”

“You should.” 

Jeongin finally raised his eyes from the ground, seeing tears come faster and harder from the other’s eyes as the shuddering of his body intensified. 

“I took your family away from you, Jeongin!” Yedam screeched, undoubtedly falling into a downward spiral. “All of this is my fault. Every single thing that happened that night, to your parents, to Seojun, to you; all of it was because I didn’t speak up.”

For the first time that day, Jeongin moved forwards, taking Yedam’s balled up fists from where they had found their way to his tangled hair; the curls signifying that it had not been brushed in a couple of days. Yedam looked startled at the sudden contact, especially when Jeongin didn’t let go of his hands when they had been lowered to his sides. 

“You weren’t to blame for what happened, Yedam. Maybe things would have been different if you had told someone but at what cost? Every action has a reaction and we will never know what the backlash would have been if you had told someone about my brother, what he could have done to you or your family. It’s pointless to think about it now anyways. The only person to blame in all of this is the one who turned Seojun and left him to fend for himself without any help. Nobody else is at fault here. Not my brother and not you.” 

That’s when the dam finally broke and Yedam’s knees began to wobble as wails left the Mundane’s mouth. 

“I’m sorry, Jeongin. God, I’m so, so sorry.”

“I know, Yedam. I know. I forgive you,” Jeongin whispered, tears springing to his own eyes at the sight of his friend crumpling under the immense pressure he had been carrying around.

Before he could fall to the ground, Jeongin supported Yedam’s elbow and guided him to the couch that was still in disarray from Yedam’s sleeping arrangements. It took a few moments for Yedam to collect himself, face hidden away in his hands as Jeongin sat silently beside him, no other form of comfort than an allaying hand upon the younger’s shoulder.

When Yedam finally looked up, his eyes were even worse than before, red rimmed and glassy but in the moment, he seemed to forget himself and reached both of his arms towards Jeongin for some other form of consolation before the Werewolf placed a hand against Yedam’s chest and huffed out a little sigh.

“Yedam, just give me a bit of time, yeah? I need to come to terms with this a little more,” Jeongin admitted, not missing the way Yedam stiffened at the words but carefully nodded his head all the same, knowing that Jeongin just needed to figure all of this out in his head. “We can work our way up to being friends again. It may take a little while but we’ll get there. But that’s all for now, ok?”

It’s not like Jeongin wouldn’t have loved to go straight back to being Yedam’s boyfriend after missing him for so long but that would only have happened in an ideal scenario and this scene was far from perfect. Still, it seemed to pacify not only the wolf inside of him, who was now howling far too loudly but Yedam who had perked up considerably compared to a few minutes ago. 

“That’s fine, Jeonginnie. Whatever you think is best. I’m just happy you don’t hate me,” Yedam sniffled, authentically smiling for the first time in what Jeongin thought was a very long time. 

“So, have you been eating properly?” Jeongin asked with genuine concern when he noticed the younger looked that little bit thinner since he had last seen him. 

“I’m eating, let’s just leave it at that,” Yedam sassed, making Jeongin punch his arm when he noticed all of the take out containers on the kitchen counters. 

“Dare I ask about your sleeping schedule?”

“You probably shouldn’t,” Yedam laughed, causing Jeongin to join in and friendly chuckling to fill the apartment that had held nothing but unhappiness and regret within its walls since Yedam had moved in all those weeks ago. 

The sound flittered upwards and underneath the front door of the apartment that currently had an alpha Werewolf leaning up against it, a miniscule but noticeable smirk adorning his lips, thankful that he had indeed given his pup the choice to decide whether or not he would give his old friend another chance. Why he was ever worried about Jeongin, he had no idea. The young man was strong, brave, sensible and would always find the right path to walk down by himself. Chan chuckled lowly when he thought that he could probably learn a thing or two from Jeongin himself. 

Sometimes, people who may not think they deserve a second chance themselves are the ones in need of it the most. 

* * *

“Wooj, can you not wear a hole in my carpet please? Just sit down and relax.” 

There was no way on this good earth that Woojin could relax when the agreed upon time for their top secret meeting was fast approaching. Traipsing around Minho’s living room in the same spot for the last ten minutes wasn’t doing anyone any good. It was driving not only him insane but Minho too. Still, he couldn’t help it when the jitters making his fingers jump were beginning to spread throughout the rest of his body and boost the terrible uneasiness in his gut. 

“Things will be fine, Wooj. What are you really worried about anyways? Is it this whole ordeal? Is it the meeting? Or is it because Chan is going to be here?”

“Minho, please don’t start,” Woojin demanded, rubbing his temples to relieve some of the stress. 

“Just wondering what the cause is since we’re just going to be talking to our friends about this,” defended Minho quickly. 

“The cause is that we have to tell them that Shadowhunters were most likely behind one of the worst attacks the world has ever seen. That the organisation I have dedicated my whole life to could be totally corrupt. That almost five hundred people lost their lives and countless others had theirs changed forever because someone like me didn’t do anything to stop it. _ That _is what I’m worried about, Min.”

That shut the Warlock up pretty quickly, thankfully so because the knock on the door probably would have been inaudible had they kept nattering on like two old ladies. Sighing with a listless huff, with Woojin being unable to decipher if it was caused by actual tiredness or the Warlock having to deal with his temper tantrum, Minho raised himself from the couch and went to greet their first guest. 

Woojin’s fingernails had started to become jagged with how much he had been biting on them the last couple of days. Between his father returning and this whole mess with Jihoon, the Shadowhunter began to wonder how in god’s name he had managed to maintain his sanity. With muffled voices coming through the walls, Woojin took his marked thumb out of his mouth, inhaling deeply before Minho returned with Chan, the Werewolf halting in his steps when he laid eyes on the Shadowhunter, simply staring at him but in the most hurtful way possible. 

“I thought you said it was just going to be the two of us,” Chan muttered to Minho, though Woojin had very much heard it. 

“Yeah, I lied. Oh, well! Take a seat, Chan.”

Throwing his eyes towards the ceiling, Woojin hissed a little at the Warlock who simply hunched his shoulders with a whispered “I didn’t think he’d come if I told him you’d be here.” And to Woojin, that was a fair and valid point. Turning back to the Werewolf still standing in the hallway, Woojin simply nodded his head, getting the same in return before they both found something much more interesting to look at on opposite sides of the room. 

When Minho came back into the room with a tray of drinks magically floating behind him, the two paid him no mind, making the Warlock tut and motion for two glasses to slowly drift towards the two young men being separated by some invisible barrier. 

The silence dragged on. And on. And _ on. _ Pretty much making all three of them highly uncomfortable. 

“Well, isn’t this nice. And _ painful _,” Minho enunciated, trying to get Woojin’s attention, which he did but only for a second before the Shadowhunter took a sip of his drink and turned around again. 

A second knock on the door disrupted the unwanted peace and quiet, Minho muttering a small “Oh, thank god” before yelling at Hyunjin that the front door was open and he could let himself in. 

“Greetings, one and all. How are you doing on this wonderfully starry evening that we have been gifted with? Isn’t it just splendid?” Hyunjin cheered, twirling around as he entered through the doorway, stopping with an enormous smile on his face as he awaited a reply. 

“Why the hell is he talking like that?” Chan cringed, only mirroring Minho’s sentiments when the Warlock playfully sneered at the Vampire and gave him his own glass of blood to sip on. 

“Gonna guess it has something to do with his date with Seungmin yesterday since he came back to the Institute acting the same way,” supplied Woojin shaking his head at Hyunjin but holding a fond smile all the same. 

“Alright, before I regurgitate the pasta I had for dinner, can we begin this thing?” Minho huffed, side eyeing Woojin to follow him into the dining room where the spacious mahogany table sat, gesturing for the others to take a seat. 

Before the others had come, both Minho and Woojin had decided that the Shadowhunter would do the majority of the talking, at least at first. While Jihoon had left the letter explaining himself to Minho, Woojin felt that since the whole controversy was based around Shadowhunters, he should do the hard part and try to let the others know about what little information they had. 

“First of all, thank you for coming here and for keeping it quiet. We just had something to discuss with you guys,” Woojin began, locking eyes with both Hyunjin and Chan, though the time with the latter was much less. 

“The two of you are being awfully secretive about all of this,” Hyunjin chuckled, not knowing the weight of the entire situation yet. “Care to let us in on your little secret?” 

The letter in his hands felt far too heavy to Woojin, the Shadowhunter wanting nothing more than to rip it up and ask Minho to erase whatever memories he had of the thing but it was his responsibility to bring it to light and try to do everything within his power to try and rectify the mistakes of his own kind. 

“I have a letter here but before I let you read it, I need you to know a couple of things. This obviously doesn’t apply to Hyunjin but I just wanted to make sure you knew about Seungmin’s circumstances, Chan,” pressed Woojin as he turned towards the Werewolf, though he didn’t miss the way that Hyunjin sat up straighter in his chair at the mention of his boyfriend. 

Looking down at his hands, anywhere but at Woojin really, Chan nodded in clarification. While the three of them were close with Seungmin, the Werewolf leader hadn’t had much interaction with the youngest Shadowhunter other than at the meetings. However, he knew just as much as the others did about Seungmin at this stage from word of mouth. 

“Innie speaks of him a lot. They’ve become great friends,” Chan responded, quickly noticing the quirk of Woojin’s lips as they spoke of those in their care bonding despite their own personal problems. 

“So, you know about his memories or lack thereof. Minho recently did a ritual to try and determine if there was a block.” 

“And you found nothing. Minnie already told me that,” Hyunjin finally chimed in, his restlessness increasing tenfold when the topic of conversation was now entirely revolving around Seungmin. 

“Not exactly,” Minho interjected before Woojin could speak. 

The Warlock went on to describe what happened that night, how he had been pushed out of Seungmin’s mind before he could deplete the magic that was blocking the young man’s memories, how he had asked Seungmin for his silence on the matter for now and that Hyunjin shouldn’t be angry at him for lying to him about such an important detail. The Vampire was obviously annoyed but more so at Minho for asking such a thing of Seungmin. When the question came as to why Minho had demanded that Seungmin remained quiet about the block placed on his mind, that’s when all hell looked like it was about to break loose.

“Because…Jihoon is the one that put it there.”

The harsh screeching of the chair across the hardwood floor when Hyunjin jumped out of his seat made everyone wince but not as much as when the Vampire tried to lunge at Minho when the information left his mouth. Luckily, Chan had reflexes just as fast as the elder, jumping up to restrain him and managing to do so with his enhanced strength. 

“He fucking what?!” the Vampire roared with fangs bared, doing his best to break free of Chan’s grip. 

“Hyunjinnie, you need to calm down,” Woojin tried but it seemed as if the raven haired young man was having none of it, eyes throwing daggers at the Warlock who had leapt out of his chair to defend himself from a possible attack from his friend. 

Minho began to think that when he had told Woojin not to be so worried about the meeting because they would simply be talking with friends, maybe he should have been a little bit fearful himself. 

“Your precious, fucking mentor put a block on his memories?! Do you know what that did to him, Minho?! How much it hurt him to think that he was abandoned by his family?! That they didn’t want him anymore?! Do you know that he broke down yesterday listening to a song he used to sing to himself in the past because it reminded him of how lonely he was as a kid?! And you’re trying to tell me to calm down?!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Woojin could already see Minho trying to apologise even though no words were coming out, the Warlock too stunned by Hyunjin’s accusations to do anything but stand there with mouth agape.

“Hyunjin, look at me.”

Gently cupping the Vampire’s face between his hands, ignoring how Hyunjin tried to get away from him too, obviously determined to pick a fight with anyone who had kept him in the dark about Seungmin’s secret, Woojin eventually directed the elder’s eyes towards his own, rubbing along his cheekbones to try and soothe his anger. 

“There is a reason. A good one and it was all to protect Seungmin. Jihoon didn’t do it to harm him and I, as well as Minho, fear that Seungmin may be in even more danger now that he is back with us.” 

Immediately ceasing his attempt to struggle, Hyunjin’s eyes widened, insistently asking why Seungmin would be in harm’s way when he was living at the Institute, one of the most secure places in the world and surrounded by friends who would lay down their life for him. 

“Here,” Minho quavered, handing the letter that Woojin had dropped on the table when he had rushed towards the Vampire to calm him. “That’s the letter that I found in Jihoon’s bedside locker after he had passed. It’s the reason that we brought the two of you here tonight.” 

Hyunjin snatched the envelope from Minho, still unsure as to how he felt about the Warlock’s adoptive father doing such a thing to Seungmin. Chan sat down beside him, hand upon his shoulder as they read the letter together, faces slowly draining of colour with each paragraph and it was obvious to Woojin when they hit the part about the assailants who had murdered Seungmin’s father. 

“R-runes? What the fuck is this?” Chan gasped, eyes shooting up to Woojin for answers, the Shadowhunter doing nothing but shaking his head and gesturing to keep reading. 

By the time both of them had finished, it looked like they had been slapped across the face, told that everything they believed in had no meaning and to be honest, that was a pretty accurate description. 

“We need help,” Woojin stated simply. “We have no hard proof that what is in this letter is the absolute truth but Minho believes that Jihoon would never lie to him about such a thing and after coming to terms with this, I believe him too. There were Shadowhunters there that night, ones that didn’t do anything to stop the demons, ones that murdered Seungmin’s father, ones that could have been behind the whole thing but we have no idea why. Ones that may now be possibly aware that Seungmin is alive and back with us and we are pretty damn concerned since his father seemed to be so sure that he was in danger because of something he may have seen on that night.” 

With hands still clutching the pieces of paper with too much information to take in written on the pages, Chan exhaled heavily before falling face first into his crossed arms. Hyunjin, on the other hand, simply stared at a blank space on the table in front of him. Neither of them knew what to say and Woojin and Minho knew exactly where they were at in trying to process all of this. 

“We’re going to start investigating this soon but it has to be as inconspicuous as possible,” Woojin clarified as he took a seat once again beside Minho. “You can say no and we will completely understand if you don’t want to get involved in this but we were going to ask if you guys would be able to help us do it. Jihoon said he could never find anything out because of limited resources and the fact that he was on his own. We were thinking that maybe the four of us working together could make some headway on finding some new information about what happened that night.” 

While Chan had remained in the same position as before, Hyunjin had finally raised his eyes to meet Minho’s, the anger from before long subsiding to show nothing but regret. 

“Min, I…I’m so sorry I yelled at you earlier. I should have listened to you first. I didn’t know-”

“Water under the bridge, Hyunjinnie. No worries about it, yeah?” Minho smiled, trying to lift the mood any way that he could. 

“Why us?”

The question caught everyone off guard when Chan had been so quiet about this up until now. There was one reason and one reason only that Woojin had picked these people to share this significant secret with. 

“I don’t want to use any Shadowhunters when I don’t know who I can trust. Sung and Binnie are not to know because I am afraid that if someone gets wind of them being aware of this, something could happen to them.”

Woojin already knew that Chan would understand this point since he was also fiercely protective of the two younger Shadowhunters and would do anything to keep them out of harm’s way. 

“Seungmin also needs to stay in the dark about this for the time being. I don’t want him concerning himself with this. The longer he is unaware about the secrets of that night, the better our chances of keeping him safe are.” 

No complaints were heard on that front but Woojin could already see the cogs and wheels turning in Hyunjin’s mind, possibly of how he could keep Seungmin even closer to him and how to keep him safe at all times. Woojin really was thankful that Seungmin and Hyunjin had hit it off because they were more than perfect for each other and the fact that the Vampire had almost attacked Minho because he thought his mentor had hurt him just showed how far he was willing to go to protect his boyfriend. 

“Other than that, the only other people that I trust are sitting in this room.” 

It was probably invisible to Minho and Hyunjin but when Woojin was so hyper focused on everyone in the room at the moment, he didn’t miss the way that Chan stiffened in his seat by a small fraction at his proclamation.

“We’ll give you some time to think about it and if you want to-”

“I’m in,” declared Hyunjin, the sureness in his voice making Woojin feel just that more at ease. “I was there that night. I can’t say that I can think of anything helpful off of the top of my head but I can look back. Even if I can’t find anything, I can help in some other way. Anything for Minnie.” 

A playfully mocking scoff along with even more exaggerated kissing noises came from Minho who jabbed his finger into Hyunjin’s sides to tease him about how whipped he was for the red headed Shadowhunter. 

“Chan, if you don’t want any part of this, we understand,” Minho reassured when he had composed himself. “Protecting your pack is your top priority and we don’t know what kind of road this may take us down. We wouldn’t do anything to put them in danger.”

Woojin unknowingly winced at the comment and curled in on himself even further when Chan directed his questioning gaze towards him. 

“No, I’d like to help. Seungmin is important to you guys and to Innie too. From what I’ve heard, he sounds like a terrific kid and he deserves to know why he wasn’t allowed to be with you for the last ten years. Plus, I’d love to see the look on those bastards’ faces after being found out after all this time of thinking they got away with what they did that night. If you need me, I’m in too.” 

A colossal weight was lifted from Woojin and Minho’s shoulders when they heard their friends would be by their sides to fight against whatever injustices they would find and face along the way. A long night was ahead but at least they weren’t alone in their battle anymore. 

* * *

Exhaustion was slowly beginning to settle in Woojin’s bones as he walked through the doors of the Institute. He had been at Minho’s for the last three hours, the clock just beginning to strike eleven when he left the apartment. More than anything, the four of them had just been hypothesising what happened on that night, saying that they would try to find out any details that they could about that night by themselves first before planning out anything else. They had unanimously decided to keep the meetings of this nature within Minho’s apartment since it was likely that the walls had eyes and ears within the Institute. 

It had all been very civil when they had begun to part ways, with Chan and Woojin giving each other nods again since they knew that this had nothing to do with them personally; their cooperation was for the greater good here and they knew it was their responsibility to act amicably towards one another. 

When Hyunjin flew towards Minho with open arms to say goodbye, the Warlock admittedly flinched, causing the elder to stop with a pout before apologising for raising his voice again. Shaking his head at his own stupidity for reacting in such a way, Minho drew Hyunjin into his arms, patting his back and telling him that he was just thankful that Seungmin had such a reliable person beside him to protect him now and also that Chan had been strong enough to hold Hyunjin back before he had ripped out his throat. 

“Wooj!”

Coming back to the present moment, Woojin reacted sluggishly to Jisung’s call, wondering why the younger had been sitting on the bench by the front door, obviously waiting for him. 

“Where the hell have you been? Why didn’t you answer your cell?” 

Not that he was going to tell Jisung the truth just yet but since he was being a little paranoid about this whole thing, he had turned off his phone in case anyone had tried to trace his whereabouts and find out what he had been doing. 

“I just met up with Minho for a drink. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been a little bit stressed lately,” Woojin yawned while cracking his neck and really, that wasn’t a lie at all. 

“Yeah, I have and the reason why is currently waiting for you in your office,” Jisung blurted.

Stopping in his tracks and spinning around to face Jisung, all sense of lethargy going out the window, Woojin prayed that what he thought was happening was, in fact, _ not _happening. 

“What?”

“Your father is in your office. He arrived about an hour ago, asking why you weren’t here to greet him. Apparently I wasn’t good enough,” Jisung ranted, his well known aversion to having to speak to Yunseok becoming obvious. 

Woojin would say that he was a fairly confident person in many aspects of his life but whenever he had to speak to his father, especially when he knew he would be pissed off with him, he immediately reverted back to a childlike state, worried and downright terrified about what he would have to deal with when he came face to face with the man. 

“Since you weren’t here, he tried his luck and asked to see Seungmin.”

Even after Woojin had begun walking slowly towards his office, he once again stopped to look back at Jisung, anxiety clear on his face. The last thing he wanted was for Seungmin to meet his father without having him beside him to mediate their conversation.

“Oh, god. You didn’t let him, did you?”

“Of course not. I told him he wasn’t even here.”

While the concern of Seungmin meeting his father alone dissipated, the fact that Jisung had said that Seungmin wasn’t here, when he knew for sure that he wasn’t with Hyunjin since he had just left the Vampire in Minho’s home, sent the eldest’s blood pressure skyrocketing once again.

“He’s not? Sung, where is he?!” 

“In his room, Wooj. I told him to stay there and keep quiet until I told him it was ok. I’m going to go and guard him for the night after I walk with you to your office.” 

Woojin thanked every possible deity out there for Han Jisung. He honestly didn’t know what he would do if he didn’t have the younger man in his life to help him out in situations like this. With a quick ruffle of his hair before his hand slid down to cup Jisung’s cheek, Woojin thanked him in a soft voice, the younger brushing him off and telling Woojin that there was no need to thank him for such a thing. 

With fingers around the handle of the brass doorknob of his office, Woojin inhaled deeply before feeling fingers grasp his free hand, Jisung smiling brightly at him, a sign to show Woojin that he would be right beside him should he need him. With that helpful gesture, Woojin turned the doorknob and walked into his office.

The fire was already lighting as his father stood facing it, the flames casting an elongated shadow behind him. The silence was heavy, unbearable and only for Jisung’s grip still encasing his hand, Woojin was sure he would have suffocated under the pressure. 

“Father? This is a surprise, I didn’t expect for you to arrive so early,” Woojin tried as genially as he could, knowing that it would make little to no difference in the end. 

“Apparently not or else I’m sure you would have been here to greet me.”

His father’s tone held such hostility and they had only said one sentence to each other. Grasping Jisung’s wrist, Woojin threw him a smile to let him know it was ok to go but the younger made no move to leave just yet, hovering in the doorway, protective instincts over his leader and friend flourishing. 

“I’m sorry. I had business with Minho.” 

The scoff from the man seemed to irritate Jisung more than anyone and Woojin began to wonder if his father had a good opinion about anyone since he clearly didn’t think very much of Minho either. 

“With that promiscuous Warlock that would be more than content to sit around drowning in alcohol than do anything useful.”

It was already starting and while Woojin could just about deal with the derision directed at him, he would not stand by and let his friends be insulted like that. Especially when they didn’t deserve it. 

“He’s always exceedingly helpful whenever we need him, Father. When we gather for meetings, he always contributes accordingly and he’s a very close friend of mine. I don’t think it’s very fair to slight him like that when you don’t know him all that well.” 

He would suffer for that remark, he already knew that but Woojin would always defend his friends when they couldn’t do it themselves. It seemed even more obvious when Yunseok finally turned to look at him for the first time, the flames in the fireplace doing nothing to match the ones in his father’s eyes. 

Before anything more could be said, a loud purr was heard as their unexpected guest rubbed off of Woojin’s leg to alert them to her presence. A small gasp was heard as Jisung realised that their feline friend had somehow gotten out of his room and made her way in here. 

“Why is there a cat here? I would think you should know that all Institutes have a strict no animals policy,” Yunseok spat, eyeing the cat with such distaste. 

Bomi, as Woojin had stuck to calling her instead of her former name, seemed to notice the change in atmosphere and slowly made her way back to Jisung as the young man scooped her up into his arms. 

“Does that thing belong to you, Jisung? I hope you know that there are consequences for breaking rules of the Institute, no matter how small.” 

Jisung opened his mouth to retaliate but before one syllable fell from his mouth, Woojin stood in front of him when Yunseok began to advance towards the younger, to do what, Woojin didn’t want to speculate. 

“No, she belongs to me. I’m looking after her for a friend.”

The smile that fell upon his father’s face made Woojin’s stomach flip since he knew he had just given him another piece of ammunition to use against him. Woojin didn’t want Jisung to be a part of this anymore, turning towards the other and sending a sweet smile. 

“Sungie, can you bring Bomi to your room and then go and do the job you were telling me about earlier? I don’t want to leave it alone for too long.” 

Picking up on Woojin’s order, Jisung, albeit hesitantly, nodded and petted Bomi’s head before vacating his position and closing the door behind him.

Woojin was sure that the door wasn’t even fully shut before a clap bounced off the walls and his neck snapped forcefully to the side from the strength of the slap his father had landed against his cheek. From the pain, he deduced that his lip had been split when Yunseok’s ring had skimmed off of it. He had been in so many fights before, demons and Downworlders attacking him and roughing him up badly but nothing ever hurt as much as when his father bestowed some sort of hit on his body.

“What kind of leader are you that you can’t even keep the simplest of rules of the Institute you run? You’re supposed to lead by example but as I thought, you’re a sorry excuse for a commander.”

In reality, Woojin couldn’t choose if the physical or the emotional assault hurt more. He had been subjected to both for such a long time that he thought he would be numb to it at this stage. Unfortunately, he was not. 

“And never speak back to me, especially when there is someone else here to witness it. I will not be disrespected like that and let everyone think that it is ok to do such a thing without some sort of consequence.”

Feeling a drop of blood run down his chin from his split lip, Woojin rubbed it away with the back of his hand, huffing silently to himself. 

“Yes, sir.”

“I have become tired from waiting for you, so we will speak properly tomorrow. I hope there’s nothing more to disappoint me, Woojin. You know my promise from back then still stands.”

Feeling panic like never before, Woojin squinted his eyes, trying to fight back the rage within his chest, knowing what his father was trying to imply. 

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

“Good.”

That’s all that Woojin heard before his father was leaving him alone in the room, the crackling of the dwindling fire being the only sound to hit his ears. He didn’t know how long Yunseok would be staying at the Institute but as per usual, it would probably feel like an eternity to a son who constantly wished that he never had a father to begin with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok! Bring on the hateful messages telling me to kill Yunseok!


	28. Dudgeon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello. How are you all doing this week? I must say, while I jokingly mentioned to bring on the hate messages for Yunseok at the end of last week's chapter, I didn't expect it to be the chapter with the most comments! I love the unity of hating a character. A little bit of the aftermath this week. Let's go.

With a soft grunt, Seungmin stretched his arms to the top of his bed as he slowly woke from his sleepy state, cracking his back and releasing any tension he had there. For the past two mornings, he couldn’t help the silly smile that decorated his lips when he woke, still being on a wonderful high from his date with Hyunjin. It had been well past midnight when he had returned but he had been glad to see that Woojin no longer waited up for him when he came back to an empty entrance hallway with Hyunjin, both of them sharing a sleepy kiss before Hyunjin told him that he would call him soon and that he had enjoyed getting to spend the entire day with him, with Seungmin quickly echoing his sentiments with another string of thank you’s. 

Pulling the sheets up to his chest and rolling from side to side on the bed, Seungmin let out childish giggles when he thought about all of the days he would get to spend with the Vampire like that in the future but when he saw a sleeping form next to him, bubbles of drool forming at the corner of his mouth, Seungmin’s smile faltered and vanished before being replaced by a worrisome frown. 

As he spoke with Jisung on the way to his room to turn in for the night, the slightly elder Shadowhunter was being his usual ludicrous self as he told Seungmin about the time he and Changbin had made a bet to see who could get Woojin to swear first. Of course, Jisung had won by eventually setting one of his books on fire in his room before calling on Woojin for help. When the foam from the fire extinguisher had covered his bedroom floor, Jisung smiled triumphantly at Changbin when Woojin yelled ‘what the fuck just happened?!” In the end, Jisung flatly said that the twenty bucks he got from Changbin wasn’t worth the horrific scolding he had received from Woojin after he had found out about their little scheme. 

While Seungmin clutched at his sides, Jisung suddenly stopped walking with a grave look of concern twisting his features before he muttered a small ‘shit’ and grabbed onto Seungmin’s arm with a crushing grip, flinging his bedroom door open and telling Seungmin to stay put until he came back. But Jisung didn’t get to run away before Seungmin was holding him in place, asking for an explanation since he could see how distraught his friend was. 

“Woojin’s dad just walked in the door. He’s here to see you, Minnie but I don’t want him to unless Wooj is there with you, alright? Stay here, for me? I’ll come and stay with you after I find Wooj.”   


Trusting in Jisung’s instincts, Seungmin merely nodded, locking the door until he knew it was safe to open it again. 

It was over an hour later when Jisung returned, Bomi safely cradled against his chest, though the cat seemed to be a little distressed, wiggling around in his hold and peeking over his shoulder. 

As Jisung deposited her on the bed, she bounced back towards the door and began meowing as if she wanted to be let out but Seungmin’s bedroom door would not be opened again until morning since Jisung was still worried about Yunseok locating Seungmin when they least expected it.

It was obvious that leaving Woojin alone with his father was making Jisung anxious since he knew perfectly well what the man was capable of but he also knew he had to do his job and protect Seungmin. So, both young men lay on the bed where Bomi eventually joined them, talking in small voices until they drifted off.

Slipping out of his bed and shushing Bomi as she raised her head and purred, Seungmin pulled a hoodie over his head and stepped into his slippers before closing the door gently behind him. Maybe he shouldn’t have been walking around by himself when Jisung was so clearly uncomfortable with the idea of Yunseok speaking with him alone but he wasn’t going to hide in his own home, not that he had one now. 

“You're up early.” 

The voice admittedly made Seungmin jump and he conceded that maybe he was a little more on edge than he would like to have believed. Luckily, the owner of the voice didn’t instill any fear in his heart. 

“Morning, Wooj.”

“Thought we’d agreed that you would stay in your room until I came to get you,” Woojin scolded, leading Seungmin back towards his quarters but the younger huffed and removed himself from Woojin’s hold. 

“Yes. You and Jisung decided that. I, on the other hand, have no intention of cowering in fear before your father,” Seungmin stated without hesitation, hands on hips and looking Woojin in the eye for the first time this morning. However, his gaze soon fell downwards as his stomach twisted uncomfortably. “Wooj, what happened to your lip?”

“Oh, thanks for reminding me about that, Minnie. Bin would be annoying me all day if he saw it.”

Lifting up his shirt slightly, Woojin twirled his  _ stele _ around in his other hand before pressing it to a rune on the left side of his stomach, the  _ Iratze  _ rune if Seungmin remembered correctly, one that healed minor injuries on a Shadowhunter’s body when activated. The crystal on the end of the  _ stele  _ glowed white, transfering the colour over to the usually dark rune and igniting it. As if watching in slow motion, the gash in Woojin’s lip as well as the purplish bruise surrounding it slowly started to vanish before it disappeared completely. The elder tapped where the wound had been, satisfied that there was no longer any evidence that something had gone amiss and caused him such pain but Seungmin wasn’t about to let something like that go without questioning. 

“Wooj, did your father do that? Did he hit you?” 

“Minnie, seriously, you don’t have to worry about me.” 

“But I  _ do  _ worry about you, Wooj. Of course I do. You’re my friend and something like that is not ok. Why do you let him get away with it?” 

It was a question that apparently had one too many answers when Woojin opted to simply shrug his shoulders and avert his gaze. While he had avoided saying why he let his father do something like that to him, he had, in fact, let Seungmin know that it was Yunseok that had split his son’s lip open. That was enough to pour fuel on the fire that was sitting in the pit of his stomach and alight his anger. 

“Wooj, you shouldn’t be afraid of him. He’s nothing but a bully and I know you are way too strong to submit to him. Don’t let his position influence how you let him treat you,” Seungmin reassured, pulling Woojin into a tight but gentle hug, feeling the elder sag against him, like he had taken a break from having the weight of the world upon his shoulders. 

“Thank you, Minnie but really, I’m ok. I just have to put up with him until he leaves for Alicante again.” 

Seungmin was about to say that he shouldn’t have to put up with him. Parents are people who should look out for you, who should see you as their whole world since they were the ones who brought you into it but it was more than obvious that Yunseok seemed to have missed that tidbit of information when he had become a father. Thankfully, Woojin had Areum in his life to make sure that he knew that what Yunseok was doing to him was in no way how family was supposed to take care of one another. 

But speak of the devil and he shall appear. 

“G-good morning, Father,” Woojin stammered, immediately retracting himself from the tender hug and wrapping his arms around himself instead. Seungmin didn’t appreciate that, not at all. Hugs, especially healing ones, were not to be disrupted. 

“So, you can manage to get out of bed at a reasonable hour. I suppose that’s one thing you can manage to get right.” 

Seungmin turned to face the man who had crept up on both of them, no doubt observing the exchange between the two friends. 

Kim Yunseok looked to be like any typical man other than the tips of the runes peeking out from the collar of his shirt, nothing exceptional about him. Closing in on his late forties if Seungmin could guess, the salt and pepper hair atop his head was slicked to the side and made him look older than he probably was. His dark eyes seemed to hold nothing but malice in them as he looked at him and his son, a stark contrast to Woojin’s warm ones that Seungmin had immediately been comforted by the first time he looked into them. His blue pinstripe suit was immaculately clean and without a single crease, something that Seungmin thought was a bit over the top to be wearing at the Institute since everyone, even Areum, walked around in casual wear. Then again, Seungmin thought that Yunseok was probably vastly different from the majority of the Shadowhunters he knew. 

“This is him then, is it?” 

Yunseok’s distasteful tone made Seungmin drag his stare back up to meet the elder man’s before he began to scan his body, making Seungmin feel weirdly violated for some reason. 

“Yes, Father. This is Seungmin. He got back after you retired last night so that’s why you couldn’t meet with him,” Woojin lied, not missing the glare his father bestowed upon him. 

“I thought I had made myself clear upon our first correspondence after you found him that he was not to leave the Institute. Can’t you follow one simple order, Woojin?” Yunseok chastised, only making Woojin lower his head and clench his jaw so tight that Seungmin could see the veins straining in his neck. 

If that had been an order, then Woojin had definitely not adhered to it. Seungmin had spent a good portion of his time out of the Institute and he thanked Woojin for that small favour because he was sure he would have gone stir crazy if he had been locked in the building, especially against his will. 

“It’s good to see you looking so well, Seungmin. I am Woojin’s father, Kim Yunseok.” 

“Yes, I’m well aware,” Seungmin grumbled, not taking his eyes off of Woojin. 

“That isn’t any way to greet a superior, young man,” snapped Yunseok and Seungmin already had enough of interacting with the man but he had long learned to hold his tongue when things aggravated him. It was too bad for Woojin’s father that he had gone above and beyond anything that had every annoyed Seungmin before and he could feel his tongue becoming a lot looser. 

“No, I suppose it’s not but you’re not superior to me in any way. So…” 

Hearing a sharp inhale of breath behind him, Seungmin knew that he had overstepped his bounds from Woojin’s reaction but he couldn’t find it within himself to care any longer. 

“Minnie…” Woojin whispered, grasping the younger’s wrist to almost try and pull him away from the situation he was beginning to create. 

“Don’t you have any respect for your elders, boy?” 

“In my humble opinion, regardless of seniority, respect has to be earned and since I don’t remember you at all, I’m afraid you have not said or done anything so far that has deserved my respect.  _ Sir, _ ” Seungmin goaded with the most exaggerated and pretentious smile he could muster. 

Rational. That was what Seungmin had always considered himself as. That’s why, when his three friends had come to him to tell him that he was a part of a magical world where he was destined to fight the demons that prowled in the shadows, he had a little bit of trouble coming to terms with it. But when it came to Woojin’s father, he roughly fucked all rationality out the window. 

It didn’t take a genius to know that Seungmin should be well mannered towards Yunseok. He held a place in the Clave, basically the ruling authority over all Shadowhunters and he  _ technically  _ was his superior in that regard but Jisung’s words when he had first told him about the man kept ringing in his ears. ‘ _ If he talks to you at some point, be as rude to him as you possibly can.’  _ And after he had heard about how he treated Woojin and seeing his friend’s bruised lip this morning, he had no damn problem in doing just that. 

“A sharp tongue, just like your father,” Yunseok remarked darkly. 

“Glad to know I inherited something from him besides the devilish good looks.”

Seungmin was digging himself into a deep hole but the only thing that was going through his head was that maybe he could get the focus off of Woojin for a while and let Yunseok be mad at him instead. It seemed to work though when the man began to back off a little, the bitterness in his face receding slightly. 

“Indeed. You know, Seungmin, you’re the whole reason I came all the way from Alicante. I assume that Woojin has told you all about that.” 

“Yes,  _ sir.  _ I’ve been familiarising myself with so much of the Shadow world again and Woojin has been a great help in every possible way.” 

“I see,” Yunseok mumbled, throwing a quick side eye to Woojin who looked like he was about to have an aneurysm after how Seungmin had spoken to his father. “Well, I see no better time than right now to talk to you about the last ten years of your life.” 

Seungmin was about to laugh excessively at the comment when he looked at himself. Messy bed head covered with his hoodie, checkered pajama bottoms falling over his slippered feet. Glasses slightly askew on his face and he hadn’t even brushed his teeth yet. Yeah, this seemed like the absolute opportune time. 

“Come to my office with me. I wish to speak with you alone. Now.” 

It wasn’t a request. That much was clear. And really, Seungmin had no problem agreeing to it. He had plenty more fight left in him and if Yunseok wanted to try and interrogate him to see if he was lying about anything, he was more than willing to prove that he really was oblivious to the majority of his childhood. 

“Uh, Father. I think that maybe I should be there too,” Woojin interjected, placing his hands on Seungmin’s shoulders in a true ‘protective older brother’ fashion. “It would make me more comfortable if-”

“I don’t really care what makes you more comfortable, Woojin. I’m speaking to him alone and that’s final,” sneered Yunseok and Seungmin really, really,  _ really  _ had to restrain himself so that he didn’t deck the man right there and then so that his teeth ended up at the back of his throat. 

“But-” 

“Wooj, hey, it’s ok. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ll… _ try  _ to behave myself. Emphasis on try,” Seungmin joked when he saw the utter panic in the elder’s eyes. 

“Are you sure, Minnie?” 

“One hundred percent. Now, go and wake Sungie. If you don’t soon, I’m afraid he’ll drown in his own drool.” 

It did nothing to put the elder Shadowhunter’s heart at ease, made clear from the way Woojin kept looking back at him over his shoulder as he walked away but Seungmin had no ounce of fear in his heart, just unconditional love for his friend and incomparable hatred for his father. 

“In here.” 

Being allowed into Yunseok’s office first, Seungmin immediately zoned in on all of the things comparable with Woojin’s and the many differences too. Call it coincidence if he must but Seungmin immediately noticed that it was a hell of a lot darker in this office despite the fire being fully lit. The atmosphere reflecting the mood and state of Yunseok’s soul for some reason. It was also larger and Seungmin had to wonder why Woojin hadn’t taken residence in this room since he was now the head of this Institute and no doubt should be allowed that small courtesy. But then, the problem of Yunseok not having a courteous bone in his body halted that line of thought. 

While there were more bookcases full of files and less seating arrangements for guests, the most prominent discrepancy between here and Woojin’s base was the lack of photos scattering the walls. From top to bottom, Woojin’s office held memories of great importance in the form of pictures of his past. The day he had received his first rune, when he had finally won against his instructor in a fight, a birthday or two of his as well as his friends, outings to the sea and picnics. All showed that Woojin held his family dear, none so much as the picture of his mother dressed in a soft, white dress before she had passed that was placed on his desk with such pride. 

Here? The walls were nothing but blank. Cold and void of any sentimentality. No evidence that he cared for anyone, not even his own son when there was nothing of Woojin to be seen in the room. 

“Take a seat, Seungmin and we can get started.” 

“On my interrogation?” Seungmin sighed with an exasperated tone. 

“Of course not. I’m not here to interrogate you. Simply to chat.”

_ ‘Bullshit,’  _ Seungmin thought but he had kind of promised Woojin that he would behave, so he kept that outburst to himself. Whether or not he was going to keep his word was entirely up to his father. When he had been told that Yunseok was coming back, all of his friends had let him know that it was more than likely to question Seungmin to make sure he wasn’t trying to hoodwink all of them. As if he was going to infiltrate the Institute on behalf of the demons or something. 

“So, how have you been settling back in?” Yunseok coaxed as he took a cigar from his desk drawer and lit it, puffing the reeking smoke up into the air and making Seungmin grimace. 

“Sir, let’s not beat around the bush here. Is that really the question you want to ask me?” 

It was a query with an answer already on the table but Seungmin wanted to let Yunseok know that he wasn’t going to play nice and be the perfect little underling like he was used to dealing with. 

“No, I suppose it isn’t,” Yunseok chuckled, apparently finding it amusing that Seungmin had such spunk since nobody around the Institute would dare stand up to him. “Fine. Are you telling the truth about not being able to remember anything about the last ten years?” 

“Not to sound rude,  _ sir  _ but if I really did remember my past and was going around telling people I didn’t, do you think I would automatically tell you that I was lying just because you’re so high up on the chain of command?” Seungmin deadpanned, counting the rings of smoke coming from the ends of the man’s cigar and noticing them increase with his question. 

Seungmin had no idea what it was but there was something in the back of his mind that just wouldn’t let him be in any way respectful to Yunseok and it wasn’t just because of what his friends had told him. Then again, there was no doubt that Yunseok had always been this infuriating and he pondered in the idea that maybe his subconscious remembered that and acted upon it, even if Seungmin wasn’t entirely aware.

“Recently, I’ve been getting bits and pieces back, mostly to do with people I have met since I’ve returned. Other than that? Nothing.” 

Seungmin wasn’t about to tell the man about the block that Minho had found on his memories when his friends didn’t even know about it yet. The Warlock had yet to contact him about finding anything on why his mentor had obstructed his past and it was constantly playing on Seungmin’s mind but as he had to keep reminding himself, he trusted Minho to get to the bottom of it and tell him when he was ready. 

“And Woojin tells me that you’ve been living in Seoul all this time?” the man asked, swirling slowly back and forth in his chair. “How is it that you’ve been right under all of our noses and none of us even had an inkling that you were so close? Don’t you find it awfully strange that in ten years, no Shadowhunter saw you at any point? Walking down the street or in a store? Doesn’t seem very logical.” 

That…was a question that Seungmin hadn’t really considered and it put a frown on his face when he thought about it. Still, he wasn’t going to give Yunseok the satisfaction of knowing that he had stumped him on a topic that he had been battling with since he came back to the Institute. 

“There are nearly ten million people living in Seoul alone, sir. I don’t know about you but I tend not to focus on other people when I walk through the streets,” Seungmin began but then thought about a point that Jisung had filled him in on when they had first met and decided to really piss the man off with his knowledge. “Besides, it’s not like anyone was actively looking for me, right? You told them not to, that I wasn’t worth it. Or so I’ve heard.” 

A quick sharp breath from the man seated in front of him caused Seungmin to snicker a little when he began to choke on the smoke he had just inhaled too quickly because of his snarky comment. Seungmin was rather proud of himself when he had caused Yunseok to lose his composure like that, something that probably didn’t happen too often. 

“Well, well. You are indeed adequately acquainted with what has been happening with your case since you left us. Who told you that?” 

“Hmm, can’t seem to remember at this moment and time,” Seungmin lied, knowing that if he said it had been Jisung, his friend would probably suffer for it. 

“Exactly the same as your father,” Yunseok muttered, just loud enough that Seungmin picked up on it. 

It went on like that for some time, the questions becoming awfully repetitive and the answers always coming out the same, that Seungmin didn’t remember anything, that he couldn’t recall the night of the attack, that he didn’t know why he had suddenly been found by a demon and attacked when he had gone the last ten years being safe. He was completely and utterly clueless and for some reason, it seemed to satisfy Yunseok enough that a small smile slipped onto his lips. 

“Very well, then. I suppose I have no more business with you. Off you go.” 

“Really? That’s it?” Seungmin clarified. 

Yunseok merely nodded his head and twirled around in his seat after picking up today’s newspaper and shaking it before beginning to read. 

Feeling like he was being dismissed from the principal’s office, Seungmin rose an eyebrow and carefully slipped off of the chair, making his way to the door. It seemed too easy, being let go like that when he had been told by pretty much everyone that the whole reason Yunseok travelled all the way back from Alicante was to see him. However, once his hand curled around the doorknob, the man situated behind him called out to him but did not make a move in his chair. 

“Oh and Seungmin, if you do remember anything else of import, please do let me know. I’ll be around for some time and keeping an eye on things.”

It sounded like a threat somehow, even though nothing insinuated that in the man’s words. It let Seungmin know that Yunseok would be staying at the Institute, watching him like a hawk and if he slipped up in any way and let him know that he was hiding something, he would find out. Seungmin technically was, knowing about the block on his memories and not saying anything but he would never betray his promise with Minho like that. It unnervingly set him on edge, knowing that he was going to be observed and he hated that his new home didn’t feel like a safe place for him as long as Yunseok was going to be there. 

Creaking the door open and stepping out into the hallway, Seungmin felt a cold sweat beginning to fall down his neck and maybe, just maybe, he felt a little fear in his heart towards the man he had just left in his office. 

The feeling didn’t occupy his mind for long when he felt a hand on his shoulder, expecting it to be Woojin who might have come to collect him but instead, he was met with a Faerie with constellations on his cheeks. 

“Good morning, Seungmin!” 

“Hey, Felix. How are you?” Seungmin asked, the Faerie’s face lighting up immediately with a small giggle. About five or six books rested against his chest, obviously ones that he had Changbin check out for him so that he could read at home. Returning all of them so fast, Seungmin began to wonder how bright the Faerie actually was.

“I'm doing well! And you?” 

Seungmin hesitated for a moment, not entirely sure how he was feeling after his encounter with Woojin’s father but he wasn’t about to unload his problems on the young man he had only spent a limited amount of time with. More than anything, it was because he didn’t want to dampen the positively wonderful mood that Felix seemed to be in. 

“I’m good, Felix. Thank you for asking.”

Felix waved his hand, as if to tell Seungmin that it was no trouble. He seemed to be teetering on continuing his conversation but before the Faerie could utter another word, the door that Seungmin just emerged from opened as Yunseok walked into the hallway. While Seungmin kept his gaze firmly away from him, Felix didn’t seem to notice the shift in his mood at all. 

“Good morning, sir,” the Faerie beamed, definitely not knowing who this man was but just being pleasant to anyone he came across in the Institute. That’s just the kind of spirit he had. 

As if he were something of the most vile and ill repute, Yunseok turned his nose up at Felix’s greeting with a little grunt, walking past the both of them without a word towards the surveillance room. 

“Oh, did I say something wrong?” Felix whispered, clutching the books a little closer to his chest as if they would provide some sort of protection or comfort. 

“No, Felix. That was Woojin’s father. He’s just a massive prig.” 

“A prig?” 

“Look it up in one of your books. It will be handy to use for that guy in the future,” Seungmin smiled, making Felix tip his head to the side in confusion but obviously making a mental note of the other’s suggestion. 

“That was Woojin’s father? That’s so strange.”

“Why, Felix?” Seungmin questioned, wondering why that would concern the Faerie so much. 

“Well, it’s just that Woojin is so kind and I assumed that many humans would be similar to their parents since they learned from them. You know, like Binnie and his mom. They’re both wonderful. It’s just strange that his father seems so mean when Woojin is so lovely. Oh! How silly of me, of course he learned to be kind from his mother.” 

Seungmin’s heart broke just a little bit with the Faerie’s words, knowing that Felix was unaware of Woojin’s parental circumstances but he was also rather glad that he had said this to him and not to Woojin himself. 

“No, Felix. Woojin’s mom died when he was born. He never met her.” 

Felix’s head shot up at the news, eyes becoming glassy as one of the books slipped from his hands. Apologising towards Seungmin as the redhead picked it up and handed it back to him, Felix looked downright distraught upon hearing about Woojin’s mother. 

“He never had a mother? That is terribly sad. Everyone should have a mother who loves them.” 

“He has Areum though and I know my parents loved him. Jisung’s too. He’s also got all of us now too, right?”

“Right!” Felix nodded with such a serious determination on his face that he could see why Changbin had found himself so smitten with Felix and his cute, endearing qualities. That reminded Seungmin what he had wanted to ask Felix before the topic of the conversation had been changed. 

“Felix, do you need me to call Changbin for you? Are you here to see him?” 

Seungmin already knew that Changbin wasn’t at the Institute right now. He had been placed on an overnight mission in Cheongju with Areum since there had been an attack there yesterday evening and Woojin had asked him to go. He would be returning sometime later this morning but he wondered if Felix knew that. However, it didn’t seem to matter when the Faerie shook his head, a small dust of scarlet blooming across his cheeks. 

“A-actually, I was looking for you.” 

“Me?” Seungmin wondered with a puzzled expression, clueless as to why Felix would need him for anything. 

“Yes. I was thinking back to the last day that we spoke. You know, in the library and you were telling me all about how you found studying to be a bit difficult?”

Telling him that he indeed remembered their conversation, Seungmin began to guide Felix away from Yunseok’s office, wanting to get as far away as possible as quickly as he could.

“I was thinking that perhaps we could help each other out a bit? We could study together, if that would be of any interest to you. Perhaps not but it was just a thought that popped into my head upon further thinking.” 

While Jisung and Changbin often came to help him study, Seungmin knew that they had more important things to tend to and he couldn’t help but feel that he was always taking them away from such tasks when he asked them to quiz him on things. Felix, on the other hand, was in the same position as he was, knowing that Changbin couldn’t always be there to help him, more than clear by this very instant. It wasn’t such a bad idea when Seungmin thought about it. 

“That sounds like fun. I’m up for it if you are,” Seungmin chuckled, having to physically hold Felix down when the Faerie began to bounce in place, the books beginning to slip out of his grip once again. 

“Yes! I’m so glad. Binnie is always telling me that you’re really lovely. I was hoping to get to know you better.” 

Seungmin’s heart just about melted at Felix’s words, finding it adorable that the Faerie had no problem in telling him why exactly he wanted to spend time with him. He was sure that Felix was still trying to become familiar with humans and attempting to fit in and Seungmin knew personally how hard that could be. If he could help Felix out a little, he would gladly do so. 

“Ok then. I’ll walk you to the library and then I need to go get dressed,” Seungmin grumbled, resisting the urge to pat Felix on the head when he told him that he looked cute in his pajamas.

“If it’s alright with you, I’ll stay around until Binnie comes home.” 

“Oh, you already know he’s not here?” Seungmin asked, stopping outside the library door and opening it for Felix to go inside. 

“Uh huh. When I left the Fae realm this morning, I called him and told him I was coming here to see you and he let me know he was on a mission. That’s ok though. He’s not the only friend I have here, right?” 

Seungmin knew he would have to stop teasing Changbin about his little infatuation with the Faerie now because he could absolutely see why he had fallen so hard for him. The hope and slight fearfulness in Felix’s eyes when he asked Seungmin the question made the Shadowhunter want to bundle him up and protect him from all the dangers in the world. 

“Absolutely, Felix.”

As the Faerie disappeared beyond the door, Seungmin thought to himself that if Felix could manage to better himself with regards to his knowledge on humans, then he could definitely do it when it came to the Shadow world. He would do everything in his power to show Yunseok that he was not a liability, that he would prove himself to be a Shadowhunter equal to the greatness of his parents, that he would not give him a reason to call him a disappointment. 

Seungmin was going to prove himself and he was going to put up one hell of a fight to show Yunseok that he would not be intimidated so easily. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but I love writing Seungmin this way. Boy can be ruthless when he needs to protect his friends. Some more Woojin centric story and Minsung next week! See you then!


	29. Despondency

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings all! Hope you guys are doing well and staying safe. Delving a little deeper into some investigating today and some Minsung. What happens when I write Minsung? Yup, angst. Enjoy!

“Welcome back, Bin. Good job in Cheongju. Must have been fun doing a mission with your mom again, huh?” 

The slight grumble that Woojin received in return was more than enough evidence that maybe Changbin hadn’t enjoyed it as much as he thought he would. 

“It was fine but man, I’m twenty three years old. Can she _ not _baby me every single chance she gets?” Changbin raged, running his fingers through his hair. “We met up with the leader of the Cheongju clan to discuss the attack and I must have had some sauce on the corner of my lip from lunch. You know what she did? She took a tissue out of her pocket and dabbed it on her tongue before wiping my face. Right in front of the clan leader!” 

He was obviously annoyed by the event but Woojin couldn’t help but laugh in Changbin’s face at the dilemma his friend had been dealing with. While it had clearly been embarrassing, Woojin was about to say that at least she cared enough to do something like that but caught himself before he did. No reason to bring down the mood like that. 

“Oh, Felix is in the library with Seungmin at the moment. I didn’t even know he was coming over,” Woojin added, helping Changbin out of his jacket since the younger looked about ready to drop from his journey. 

“Yeah, he called me this morning to ask if he could come to see Minnie. Lix wanted to study with him since he realised that he was after being dropped in the middle of a whole new world too.”

Woojin couldn’t help but coo at that line of reasoning but thought that it held a lot of logic all the same. While he himself would probably flourish more if he was left to study on his own, he realised that others like Felix and Seungmin would more than likely benefit from group learning more. 

“Ah, I see. They seemed to be pretty focused when I walked in on them earlier. Minnie was quizzing Felix on some music, I think but it looked like it was going well.” 

“Lix is so cute that way. He wants to soak up every bit of information that he possibly can. I’m glad he felt comfortable enough to come here when I was away,” Changbin hummed, stretching his arms to the ceiling. 

Jisung had been right when he commented on how Changbin spoke about the Faerie to Woojin. In no way did he try to mask his fondness for the freckled young man and while he could try to tease him about it, undoubtedly like Jisung had already done, he couldn’t help but feel just a little bit proud that Changbin was finally opening up and allowing himself to be seen as vulnerable and show how emotionally mature he was to someone other than their little circle of friends. 

“Bin, do you like Felix?” 

Woojin could see the younger beginning to go on the defence, apparently sick and tired of being bothered about this specific topic by Jisung but when Changbin turned to give Woojin a piece of his mind, he couldn’t see a mocking expression on his face nor hear a jesting tone in his voice. All he could see was his friend who was genuinely intrigued with regards to his feelings towards Felix. 

“In what way are you asking, Wooj?”

“In every way possible, I guess,” the elder shrugged, pushing into Changbin’s bedroom. 

“Yeah, I suppose I do. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t get him out of my head, regardless of if he’s here with me or not. I’ve never felt this way about someone before.”

With an affectionate grin drawing his lips wide, Woojin turned to run his fingers through Changbin’s messy locks, chuckling when he could see the younger’s eyes droop closed with tiredness at Woojin’s touch. 

“Pretty sure that’s called love, Bin. I’m glad you finally found it.” 

Woojin led a weary Changbin to sit on his bed, his intention to basically tuck the young man in and depart but his objective was soon felled. 

“Are you in any mood to cuddle?” Changbin whined sulkily, stretching his arms out with grabby hands that he knew Woojin wouldn’t be able to say no to.

“Always, Bin but just for a little while, ok? I have to go and do some work in the office and you need to shower. I know Felix will probably want to see you too.”

It was about an hour later that Woojin closed the door to his office. Changbin had drifted off the moment they had both laid on the bed but woke up quite suddenly, afraid that he had overslept and may have missed Felix. However, Woojin reassured him that not that much time had passed and he was sure that, regardless of how long he would have had to wait, Felix would more than likely hang around the Institute for him. Which ended up being true when Woojin accompanied Changbin to the library and saw through the crack of the ajar door that the Faerie was still seated at the table with Seungmin looking through a pile of books. 

There was no way Changbin could deny his feelings for Felix when his face positively lit up simply upon seeing the other but Woojin wasn’t going to comment on that right now and walked away silently towards his room. 

Logging into his computer, Woojin settled himself comfortably in his chair since he was unsure how long this feat would take him. Before he would meet up with Hyunjin, Chan and Minho to discuss how they would further go about their investigation into the incident ten years ago, Woojin thought he could use his status as leader of the Institute to see if he could find anything within the Clave’s database that could shed any light on what they sought to know. 

Not every Shadowhunter was privy to log into these particular servers, with Woojin himself only being able to log in through his own personal computer since they contained his private codes but if there was one perk to his position, this was definitely it, something that Jihoon would have undoubtedly loved to have had access to when he had been investigating the incident for the last decade.

_ Login accepted. _

_ Authentication verified. _

_ Welcome, Kim Woojin. _

Moving the parameters of the search to focus on files within the last ten years and the area of Seoul, Woojin tried to filter out anything that didn’t include demon attacks. It was a long and arduous task but someone had to do it since this was something that none of his friends would be able to find, something that he could definitely contribute to their examination. 

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of papers on that particular night: eyewitness accounts, medical reports, statements on how to stop something like this happening in the future. As he read through the majority, it seemed that nothing was of use to him, just the same old story of that night that he had heard a hundred times over.

It took a couple of hours of searching before Woojin stumbled on a file that was hidden amongst the depths of far too many records, one without a title and if someone wasn’t looking specifically for that date, they most certainly wouldn’t have found it since it has taken him such a long time to reach this far into the servers. 

Woojin couldn’t help the frown that formed on his face when he clicked on it and a large red error sign popped up. 

_ Authentication failed. _

_ Security level insufficient. _

_ Identification not authorised. _

“Security level? What the hell?”

That couldn’t be right. All leaders of the Institutes around the world were allowed access to all information within the Clave’s database. There shouldn’t be anything that had a higher security level than Woojin’s. Trying again, the same error message popped up and Woojin began to wonder why this one specific file was not being shown to him when every other one had been, what could have been within the folder that was sealed to his eyes. 

Thinking it couldn’t hurt to try once more, Woojin had his fingers on the keys to click on the folder one last time before-

“Woojin?”

At the sound of his Areum’s voice, Woojin minimised the webpage, pulling up a blank document instead and swiveling his chair around to face the woman standing in his doorway. 

“What are you doing?”

“Just some paperwork, Auntie. Is everything alright?” 

With a raised eyebrow, Areum slowly walked up to and around Woojin’s desk, eyes flashing towards the screen of his monitor before going straight back to Woojin. 

“Doesn’t seem like you’re getting very much done with a blank page like that,” Areum huffed with a teasing tone, one that Woojin could only return with a taut smile. 

There was no way that Areum could have known what he had been doing, his screen couldn’t be seen by anyone but himself when he had been working but something in Woojin’s bones, something in his soul was telling him that she knew exactly what he had been up to. Trying his best to maintain his poker face and outright lie, Woojin made no move to tell the woman about what he had been searching for. 

He trusted Areum with his life, she was the only real parental figure that Woojin still had and he wanted to believe in her so badly but anyone who had been on active duty that night ten years ago could not know that Woojin was now wise to the fact that Shadowhunters had been involved in the attack. His trust in the system had already been shattered and he didn’t want his faith in Areum to be diminished as well by finding out she knew about the shady dealings of their institution all along. Maybe she had been involved, maybe she hadn’t but it’s not like he could ask her about it outright. So, Woojin kept his mouth shut, nothing more on the subject coming to the floor. 

“Woojin, you’re not hiding anything from me, are you?” 

Feeling his head spin a little, Woojin reclined in his chair, frowning an insincere frown and trying not to let his worries show. He was thankful that he had pretty much mastered guarding his feelings because if he gave away one single gesture, a finger subconsciously tapping, a quirk in his lip, a twitch in his eyebrow, Areum would most definitely see it and snoop even further into what was troubling him. 

“Like what, Auntie?”

Fear started to envelop his heart when Areum let her eyes slip up to his computer screen once more for a split second before settling upon Woojin again, a taxed smile upon her lips.

“Never mind. My dear, how are you holding up?”

“What do you mean?” Woojin hesitated, shutting down his computer completely and hating how he had been continually asking questions without giving any answers to Areum in return. 

“You know what I mean, Woojinnie. I can see that you’re on edge since Yunseok came back.”

Areum sat atop the younger’s desk, arms crossed with a perturbed pout on her face. She had always been wise to the strained relationship between Woojin and his father and on a number of occasions, she had tried to talk to Yunseok about his behaviour but was shot down each and every time, much to her own annoyance. However, since he always managed to fix the contusions that Yunseok consistently handed out to him, Woojin was sure that Areum assumed his father’s assaults had only been verbal. 

“Seungmin told me that he saw you using the _ Iratze _rune this morning but he didn’t say what for. What was that about?” 

An indirect way to snitch on Woojin, no doubt, not that he could really blame Seungmin for that. He was worried, Woojin could see that in the younger’s eyes this morning but he still wasn’t going to dump his familial problems on Areum just because he got a little bruise. It wasn’t like it was a rare occurrence that he couldn’t deal with by himself. 

“Scraped my knee off of my dresser this morning. There was a stray nail sticking out and I got caught in it so I just fixed myself up. That’s all, Auntie.” 

Areum didn’t buy it, that much was clear but she didn’t push the subject, knowing that Woojin would effectively end up completely shutting her out if she did. 

“Woojin, look at me,” Areum pled, cupping the ebony haired man’s cheeks with such a motherly gentleness. “You know, no matter what it is, you can always talk to me about anything. I hate the thought of you suffering by yourself. Promise me that if you are struggling, you’ll depend on me to help you out.” 

Merely nodding, not trusting his own voice to keep going, Woojin couldn’t outright promise that he would always believe in her when he didn’t know who he could believe in anymore, not even Areum. 

“All right, darling. I’ll leave you to your…work.”

And Areum did. She eventually let herself out, turning to give Woojin one last tense smile before gently closing the door behind her. 

Deflating with a heavy sigh, Woojin raked his hands through his disheveled locks before resting his elbows on his knees. In a place such as the Institute, it would be exceedingly hard to keep anything a secret, especially if Woojin wasn’t careful about how he conducted himself. All eyes were constantly on him as a leader but when Areum and Yunseok were here too, it was like he couldn’t move a muscle within his home without it being analysed and dissected. It was already stressing him out beyond belief but he knew that he could do this. People that didn’t even know about his hardships were counting on him and Woojin was not going to be the one to let them all down. 

Turning on his computer again and pulling the webpage back up, Woojin took down the file number that he had been unable to access and slipped the number into his desk before logging out. There was something in that folder, something that someone didn’t want him to see and if it was being hidden from the public eye, then he was definitely interested in finding out what it was. The only way into that server was to access it by using a code that belonged to someone in a higher position than him and at the moment, there was only one person in the Institute with that privilege. 

He needed to get access to his father’s computer. 

* * *

When Jisung awoke to his phone buzzing, he had absolutely no idea where he was or how he got there. Not in a terrifying sense, of course but he was one hundred percent sure that he hadn’t gone to sleep in Minho’s bed but that was where he had ultimately ended up. 

The night before, Jisung had just been about ready to fall into his blankets, mentally drained and burned out. Spending his days trying to tiptoe around the Institute now that Woojin’s father was there was taking a toll on everyone, especially Jisung since he really couldn’t act like his loud and boisterous self. That wasn’t for fear of getting scolded; Jisung really couldn’t give a rat’s ass about how Yunseok spoke to him but he was going to behave himself so that Woojin didn’t suffer any repercussions because of his actions. He hadn’t been able to let loose and it was leaving him feeling aggravated and the smallest things were starting to grate on his nerves. 

So, when Minho spontaneously called him so suddenly and asked if he wanted to go and have some fun, at nine thirty at night, Jisung was a little skeptical but wasn’t about to say no when he could finally get out of the Institute and relieve some of the pent up stress that was consuming him. 

He slipped his favourite woolen jacket over his shoulders and flattened out his hair, hating how exhausted he looked when going to meet Minho, not that he could do much about that at the moment. He might get a teasing remark or two from the Warlock but Jisung was more than used to that by now. 

Locking his door just in case anyone decided to try and check on his whereabouts, Jisung threw open his window and pulled his gray hat with a bobble on top onto his head and wrapped his cuddly scarf around his neck. If he got sick, Woojin would definitely be keeping a closer eye on him and Jisung didn’t know if he could stand that, not when his father was already breathing down his neck. 

“Bomi, be a good girl for me while I’m gone,” Jisung urged the cat lying flat on her back in the middle of his bed. “You think I look ok for Minho?” 

Bomi twisted her head from side to side at the question, emerald eyes blinking curiously back at Jisung. 

“It will probably never make a difference what I look like to him, will it?" Jisung mumbled, eyes cast downward before feeling a soft hit on the tip of his nose, looking up to see Bomi stretching her paw out as if trying to comfort him. “Thank you, sweet girl. I’ll see you later.”

Kissing the top of her head, Jisung waved to Bomi one more time before hopping out the window, shutting it behind him and trying not to step on the flowers beneath the windowsill. Changbin would have his head if he smushed the crocus plants that he had planted by his room. Jisung practically ran all the way to Minho’s apartment, leaping up the stairs two at a time but as he got to the front door, Minho was already leaving, smiling at Jisung before coming to meet him. 

“Wait, where are you going? I thought you said I should come to your apartment,” Jisung stammered, wondering if he had heard the Warlock incorrectly when they had spoken. 

“Yeah, I did. We’re going to get a drink together. We could both use a bit of time away from our work.” 

“You…want to go out together?”

It sounded like a stupid question but whenever the two of them spent time with one another, it was always within the confines of the Warlock’s apartment since Jisung was a bit unsettled about anyone seeing them and figuring out what was going on between them. The Warlock had been of the same mindset, thinking it best just to stay in since there was no real need for them to go anywhere else.

But Jisung thought Minho had been acting rather strange lately between wanting to spend more time with him, cooking dinner for him and now, going out in public with him but it felt a lot more personal, making Jisung feel more cherished but he quickly shook those thoughts out of his head when he knew that Minho just wanted to drink and it probably didn’t matter who it was with. 

“Yeah, you ok with that?” Minho asked, even though he was already catching Jisung’s hand and leading him back down the hallway. 

“I…guess,” Jisung hesitated but ultimately decided that nobody from the Institute would be out at this time of night and if they were, he could just say that he wanted to destress with a friend. 

That would probably get him into some shit with Woojin since he wasn’t supposed to leave the Institute without notifying him. Not because of some overprotective instincts that the eldest had over those under his care but because of the increase in demon attacks lately. They had gotten a message earlier in the day to say that a Vampire’s body had been located in a small creek on the outskirts of town, completely devoid of any blood. There weren’t many ways that you could kill a Vampire other than a wooden stake straight through the heart or cutting off their head but bleeding them dry was probably the slowest and most excruciating way to do it. Whether it had been a demon or something else to do that to the poor girl, Jisung didn’t know but the security alerts were going to be put at a higher level soon, meaning everyone was being more cautious at the Institute, especially Woojin. 

Still, when he was with Minho, Jisung knew that there was nothing to worry about with regards to his safety and gladly held onto the Warlock’s hand as they walked down the darkening streets of Seoul. 

Jisung wasn’t all that worried about running into someone he knew but maybe that shouldn’t have been his number one concern when going out in public with Minho because it had only been about thirty minutes and he was just about ready to scream.

They had entered the bar, sat in a booth in the back and ordered a couple of drinks from the bartender, who, much to Jisung’s chagrin, slyly winked at Minho and said ‘coming right up, babe.’ That was the first of far too many advances towards the Warlock during the night. Jisung knew Minho was desirable, how couldn’t he be when he looked like he was one of the angels that Jisung pledged his life to serve? But it was getting way too ridiculous when a Vampire came up to him and asked Minho in a sultry voice “what’s a cutie like you doing in a place like this all by yourself?”...as if Jisung wasn’t sitting straight across from him. When Minho said that he was only here to have a drink with someone and nothing more, nodding his head in Jisung’s direction, the guy finally made eye contact with the Shadowhunter and gave him the most demeaning sneer, like his atrocious flirting had been Jisung’s fault. 

Not five minutes later, two beautiful Werewolves fell on either side of Minho, seductively pouting their lips and caressing his biceps in an ‘oops, would you look what I’m doing even though it’s so blatantly obvious that it was my intention to touch you’ kind of way. Jisung didn’t know if it was the murderous glare that he was giving the two girls who definitely didn’t care that he was there but Minho simply laughed it off and told them that he wasn’t really up for anything like that tonight. 

Tonight. 

Meaning that any other time would have been good and that made Jisung’s jaw clench just that little bit harder but he was glad to see that they had taken the hint and left when Minho’s lack of interest became clear. 

“Are you always this popular?” Jisung almost accused, as if it was some sort of crime that Minho committed when people kept interrupting their time together. 

“Don’t you know that I’m the most beloved person in Seoul, Sungie? Can’t help it if I have people falling at my feet.” 

It was all some good mannered joking but Jisung didn’t appreciate it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t like he could really tell Minho why without giving away why exactly it was that all of these admirers were bugging him, so he simply sat back in his chair, eyes dancing around the bar trying to deduce who would be next in Minho’s long line of admirers. 

“Sung, are you alright?”

“Yeah, just tired,” Jisung grumbled, popping the straw of his vodka and coke into his mouth and wondering how many times people used that excuse so that they didn’t have to talk about what was really bothering them. 

“I bet. Yunseok really must be starting to grate on your nerves, huh?” 

“You have no idea. I was eating ramen in the dining hall alone today and he just struts past and said ‘what disgusting table manners’ when I was, ok, noisily, slurping up some noodles. Like, dude, seriously, fuck off and mind your own business. How are my eating habits any concern of yours?!”

Minho cackled a little at Jisung’s dramatically theatrical storytelling, making the younger laugh along with him, allowing him to momentarily forget about the few groupies that had interrupted their conversation earlier but it didn’t last all that long. 

“Minho? Ah, it is you. I haven’t seen you in such a long time!” 

Extraordinarily stunning. That was the only way that Jisung could describe this woman’s appearance. Wavy, raven hair falling down past her petite waist, violet eyes that he didn’t think were humanly possible, slender arms and legs that crossed so elegantly when she sat beside Minho, her little, black dress leaving very little to the imagination, lips full and luscious pulled into a smile so gorgeous that Jisung wasn’t surprised when Minho automatically smiled back. 

“Nari, what are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d let loose tonight and meet up with some friends but I spotted you over here and thought I’d come say hi,” Nari purred in a very obviously flirty manner. 

“Well, it’s nice to see you. Oh, Jisung, this is my friend, Nari. She’s a Warlock too.”

Feeling his skin tingle uncomfortably when Nari looked at him, Jisung only managed a little wave when it felt like his soul was being stared at by the woman, intrusively so. 

“How could you introduce me as just a friend? Pretty sure our relationship is a little more than that, Min.” 

Min was Jisung’s nickname. Who was she to use it towards him too? Did it make it worse when she whispered the question so close to Minho’s ear that her lips brushed off of his skin and caused the Warlock to smirk? For Jisung, it was like a stab right through the heart. He willed the feeling away though. Not just because of the two so brazenly ogling each other in front of him but he knew that if he got anymore worked up, his _ Parabatai _bond would undoubtedly transfer some of his rage to Changbin and he couldn’t stand the idea of the other going to check on him to see if he was alright, only to find his bedroom empty before starting to panic.

“He’s cute, I guess but I don’t think he’s really your type, Min.”

The comment stung when Jisung finally managed to zone back in on their conversation after dissociating for a little while but for this random woman to say that Jisung wasn’t suited to Minho when she knew absolutely nothing about him made him want to go on a full blown rant about how she could never even come close to meaning what he meant to Minho. 

“Oh, no, it’s not like that. We’re just friends,” Minho hummed and Jisung knew that the Warlock thought he had said exactly what Jisung wanted him to say since he had made such a big point about nobody knowing of their relationship in the start but man, did it absolutely shatter his heart when he heard Minho say something like that out loud. 

“If that’s the case, why don’t you reschedule your little playdate and come home to have some fun with me,” Nari breathed, face merely centimeters away from Minho’s and that’s when Jisung decided that he couldn’t sit around here anymore and look at this. 

A loud clunk seemed to break Nari and Minho out of their weird daze to stare at Jisung who had just knocked back his entire drink before bringing the glass back down harshly on the table and jumping up from his seat to stride towards the door. He was about ten paces down the sidewalk before he was turned around to meet Minho’s concerned gaze. 

“Hey, why did you just storm off like that?”

“I didn’t _ storm off. _I just thought you might like some alone time with her since she was pretty clear about what she wanted,” Jisung ranted, trying his goddamn best not to sound petty. How well it was working was not very clear to him yet. 

“Why are you getting upset, Sung?”

Apparently, it wasn’t working very well. 

“Min, I’m not upset. I told you that I was stressed out and tired. Look, go back to your…_ friend _and indulge her. She’s right, we can reschedule for another time. You’d probably prefer to be with her anyways.” 

He wasn’t drunk. Hell, he wasn’t even tipsy but the one drink that Jisung had managed to chug in one go was doing something for his boldness when he said all of that out loud. It was the last thing that he wanted, for Minho to go running back to his former hookup and leave him standing alone like an idiot in the middle of the street that was beginning to freeze over with ice. He didn’t want to be on his own. Not right now.

“Ok, you’re pissed at me and don’t say you’re not because you so clearly are,” Minho interrupted when Jisung opened his mouth to argue. “Is it because people kept interrupting us and I was distracted?” 

That was part of the reason but Jisung was sure that Minho didn’t know _ why _it upset him that people kept interfering with their alone time. 

“Min, it’s nothing. Just go back and I’ll walk back to the Institute by myself.” 

It wasn’t all that surprising that Minho seemed to consider what Jisung proposed but when the Warlock sighed and told him to wait there for a second, it did catch the Shadowhunter off guard when Minho went running back from where they had just come. After about two minutes, Jisung was just about ready to leave since his fingers had started to go numb from the cold but just as he put one foot in front of the other, Minho glided up to his side and hooked their arms together. 

“What happened? Why are you here?”

“Because I asked you to come hang out, Sung and I’m not going to abandon you like that. How could I do that to my best friend? You’ll always be more important to me than any of those people back at the bar,” Minho promised, rubbing his freezing nose into Jisung’s neck and making the younger giggle so much that he slipped on the ice beneath his feet. Luckily, Minho pulled him back up before he could hit the ground. 

It didn’t mean the same thing to Minho as it did to Jisung, that final sentence that he had uttered but it was something and Jisung was so high on the fact that the Warlock had chosen him over such a stunning girl that he could have spent the night with that he couldn’t help but latch on tightly to the other’s arm as they walked back to his apartment. 

One or two more drinks had been sipped upon before Jisung had Minho biting down his neck, something he would later have to kill the Warlock for since it would undoubtedly leave marks and he would actively have to try and hide them from everyone. Their makeout sessions were usually led by Minho since he had always been more confident in these kinds of situations but this time, Jisung had no problem in taking the reins on pushing his lips harder onto Minho’s, the Shadowhunter putting that down to the alcohol making him more daring and courageous. The fact that all that was going through his head was that he was here in Minho’s lap instead of Nari just made him all the more invested in showing Minho that he had made the right choice in going home with him instead of the other Warlock. 

After that, not much was memorable to Jisung but that was how he found himself wrapped up in Minho’s sheets, the Warlock’s hoodie, sweatpants and fuzzy socks on him while he reached for his phone that was still buzzing. Typing in his passcode, Jisung tilted his head at the message that Changbin had sent him. 

_ ‘Ok, Sung. Enjoy your morning with Min.’ _

Jisung’s heart shot straight into his mouth, flipping around wildly before he managed to get into an upright position. Looking to his right, he noticed that Minho’s side of the bed was empty, a detail in itself which was strange since Minho was _ never _awake before Jisung. It was always the younger carefully slipping out of the Warlock’s apartment in the early hours of the morning to avoid waking Minho and getting back to the Institute before anyone noticed he was missing. That’s when he also noticed the time on his phone. 

8:53 am. 

He wasn’t back at the Institute like he should have been and he was about ten seconds away from having a heart attack before he remembered what Changbin had texted him. It was an obvious reply and Jisung was praying to the god of all gods that he hadn’t drunk texted him last night or something. Scrolling through his conversation with his _Parabatai,_ Jisung noticed his last sent message was at 7:41 this morning and since he had just awoken from his coma, he was sure he hadn’t been the one to send it. 

_ ‘Morning, Binnie. Just to let you know I’m going to get some breakfast with Min. He asked me to try out this new coffee shop with him so don’t worry if I’m not around. I’ll talk to you later. x’ _

Placing his hand over his racing heart, Jisung deflated back into the pillows when he realised Minho must have saved his ass and sent Changbin a message explaining why he wasn’t at the Institute. He needed to thank the Warlock for that and since he wasn’t beside him right now, he assumed he must be somewhere else in the house and went to investigate. 

“Good morning, Sungie. Did you sleep well?”

Jisung eventually found Minho in the kitchen, spatula in hand as he very expertly flipped the pancakes in the pan. 

“Uh, yeah, Min. How come you didn’t wake me up? It’s so late.”

“Well,” Minho began as he placed the last pancake onto the plate and motioned for Jisung to take a seat before putting the stack right in front of him. “After we came home last night, we drank, made out for a bit and then you completely passed out on the couch. Since you were telling me about how tired and stressed you were, I figured that I should let you sleep for a while. I bundled you up in my hoodie and sweatpants and put you to bed. Seemed like I made the right choice.”

Leaning back against the counter with a mug of café au lait, Minho smiled such an angelic smile while he nodded his head towards the breakfast he had prepared for Jisung as an indication to start eating, which the younger eventually complied with.

“Oh and don’t worry, I sent Bin a text to cover your whereabouts.”

“Yeah, he texted back to say it was fine. Thanks for doing that for me.”

“Anything for my Sungie,” Minho cooed while swiping his thumb across the younger’s cheek.

It made Jisung exceedingly thankful that Minho had moved behind him to place his mug in the sink so that he couldn’t see the blush that had covered his face when the Warlock had called him _ his _Sungie. 

“Stay for as long as you want, Sung. I’m just going to take a shower and then I need to go to town. You can come with me if you want.”

“Ok, Min. Thanks,” Jisung called out after the Warlock who had already walked off to the bathroom. 

Biting into the blueberry pancake, Jisung snuggled further into his hoodie, inhaling the leftover cologne lingering on it that Minho always wore. When he thought about it, he had never spent the morning in the Warlock’s apartment before, not sitting in his kitchen and eating breakfast anyways. It was cozy, domestic and oh, how Jisung absolutely adored it. 

Hearing the shower turn on, Jisung stuffed the last piece of his food in his mouth before hopping up and washing the dishes that Minho had left behind. It was the least he could do after the elder had so kindly cooked for him. As he dried his hands in the cloth beside him, a twinkling sound reverberated throughout the room, a clear tone from a phone but this time, it was not Jisung’s. The Shadowhunter noticed Minho’s cell lying on the counter beside him and even though he knew it was an invasion of privacy, Jisung couldn’t help but sneak a peek at what message was left for him when the screen lit up. 

_ ‘Hi, Min. It was great seeing you again last night. It’s been far too long since you called me up. Too bad you had to leave with that little friend of yours. But I’ll hold you to that promise that we can meet up some other time when there aren’t any unwanted distractions. I’m assuming you still have my number saved from last time. I’m already looking forward to it.’ _

That fuzzy feeling that had been overtaking his senses pretty much up and left Jisung’s heart when he saw that Minho did indeed have Nari’s number saved in his phone and he realised from what was written that, when the Warlock had returned to the bar last night while Jisung waited in the street, he had obviously told Nari that he would be leaving with him but had also agreed that he would see her again. Any ideas that Jisung momentarily had about how much more he meant to the Warlock that the young woman disintegrated and shot Jisung straight back to reality. 

A tiny whispering voice in the back of Jisung’s mind was trying to convince him to delete the message so that Minho wouldn’t have reason to think about the stunning Warlock again, that maybe he would forget all about her but he already knew that was highly unlikely from their interaction last night. Besides, Jisung wouldn’t be able to act normally with a guilty conscience in front of Minho and would no doubt end up blabbing about the text. That would lead to having to give the elder a reason why he had erased the message and that was a whole can of worms that he didn’t want to open. 

Simply setting the phone back down with the message still in tact, Jisung went to get changed into his clothes from yesterday, wanting nothing more than to keep wearing Minho’s hoodie but chided himself for trying to make it seem like he ever had a shot at becoming anything more than a _ friend _to Minho. Writing a little note for the Warlock that simply said ‘I’m going to head back to the Institute now. Thanks for breakfast,’ Jisung walked out the front door without looking back. 

He had some thinking to do and he was sure that, no matter the outcome of his discussion with himself, he wasn’t going to enjoy the results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jisung needs to stay as far away as he can from my fics because I put that boy through far too much. I swear, I love him to the moon and back.  
I think from now on, I'll try to give you guys a little info about the next chapter. Just what to expect in it. We have some Minho and Hyunjin for you next along with their little investigation team. Hope you guys enjoyed. See you then!


	30. Anamnesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovelies! I'm uploading just a little bit earlier than I usually do because I'm currently on lockdown for the next few weeks and have nothing better to do! You know, except cry over the fact that Woojin finally went live...  
So, a couple of things. I have been thinking about my next work. Saudade still has a lot of chapters to go but in my spare time, I've been debating on what to do next. I have one in mind that I've been planning with one of my best friends for a long time and we agreed that I could go ahead and write it. I was wondering if you guys would like to know about it yet? If so, let me know in the comments and I'll announce it at the start of the next chapter if you do.  
Also, I now have a CuriousCat on my Twitter account so, you know, if you're bored and would like to ask me anything, about my fics or otherwise, if you even just want to talk, drop me a question!  
Ok, here we go!

Hyunjin wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t. There was nothing to be nervous about, so why should he be?

He wasn’t. 

He wasn’t nervous. 

He wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t nervous. 

“Hyunjin! Will you please relax?”

“I don’t need to relax. I’m not nervous.” 

“Uh huh.”   


From Minho’s disbelieving scoff, Hyunjin knew that his lie didn’t quite manage to overcome his unintentional ticks, the way his tongue continually ran over his fangs, a telling sign of his that he was,  _ indeed,  _ nervous. 

“Hyunjinnie, I already told you that you don’t have to do this. It was just a suggestion that I came up with.” 

Minho had called him yesterday afternoon, when he had been so lazily lounging about in his hotel since he really just let his clan run the place by themselves. They had it under control without him but he couldn’t deny that he loved to sit in the reception area and watch the world go by. 

His business was open to everyone, both Downworlders and Mundanes alike since he really couldn’t turn people away without explaining that he had kind of set this place up as a refuge for wandering Downworlders. Not that he ever had any problems. Everyone from the Shadow world staying at his hotel were told about the fact that they would have to keep a low profile in common areas but could be as free as they wanted to be within their quarters. 

The other side of his establishment was to get down on their luck Downworlders to recuperate and bounce back from whatever troubles had befallen them, offering them small jobs in the hotel itself or directing them to clans and packs in case they were lost and on their own without anyone to guide them. He knew Hongjoong would be proud of him for doing that and it was the least Hyunjin could do to repay the kindness of his old friend who had helped him fight his own demons and find a new home. 

Hyunjin had been reclining back in an armchair, watching two Werewolf pups chasing each other around the lobby, laughing ever so happily while their father had been trying to check them in. By the looks of it, he couldn’t have been that much older than Woojin and it seemed like the poor man was a hair’s width away from a mental breakdown. 

As Jinyoung, one of Hyunjin’s clan and most trusted friends, checked the father into a triple room, free of charge until the man could get back on his feet, the wearied gent began to tell the receptionist the cause of his hollowed state. It began when he had mated with a young woman who his parents did not approve of, effectively disowning him and the family they had made. 

Quite tragically, on a moonlit night, the young man’s mate had shifted to allow herself some freedom since she had been quite stressed at her job as of late. She had gone to a nearby wood, letting loose and running through the fallen debris from the trees, surely in her element and feeling power flow through her bones from the light of the moon above. 

That was when the hunters found her. 

Hyunjin didn’t feel like listening to the rest of the story after that. It effectively left the man in a terrible state of hopelessness without his mate, losing his job and home with two pups under the age of five to look after and no family to return to. Amidst the shallow breaths, Hyunjin heard the man’s sorrow filled voice when he mumbled that he didn’t know how he was supposed to go on without the love of his life beside him. It was horrifically heartbreaking and Hyunjin just couldn’t imagine the pain the poor soul must be going through right now, to have the bond between him and his mate broken so suddenly. 

Pushing the heavy pity back down in his chest, Hyunjin motioned for the two pups to come over to him. Though both looked hesitant at first since they didn’t get their father’s approval, the two boys ended up beside Hyunjin, staring up at him with bright blue eyes and inquisitive glances. 

“Hey, kiddos. I want to make a deal with you.”

Whispering lowly, Hyunjin stifled a laugh when the two boys’ faces lit up upon hearing they would get free dessert after dinner tonight if they did as he asked. The pups high fived the Vampire before running back to their father, tugging on his coat just as he finished up with Jinyoung who had handed him the bedroom keys. They motioned for their father to come down to meet them, the man doing so before both young boys placed a kiss to his cheeks, wrapping their arms securely around his neck. 

“We love you lots, Papa. Please don’t forget that.”

“Mama does too, even if she isn’t here with us anymore. She’s always watching over us and I know she’s super duper proud of you.” 

Cradling his babies close to his chest, the man completely broke down, whispering that he will try to do better for them, that he will always cherish them and that their mother will never leave their side, no matter how much time has passed. 

As they walked up the grand staircase, the two pups looked back towards Hyunjin, the Vampire giving them two thumbs up with a soft smile since they had completed their mission quite successfully. 

_ “Make sure your dad knows how much you love him. He’s going through a bit of a rough patch right now and I know that it always makes people feel better when we tell them how much they mean to us. Let him know as often as you can from now on too, ok? He needs you guys now more than ever.”  _

Because none of us know when those we care about can be taken away from us. 

Of course, Hyunjin didn’t relay the last part of his thoughts to the young boys but he knew from experience that it was the unforgiving truth and the reason he needed the pups to let their dad know he was doing a good job. The small smile painted on the man’s face as he held his sons’ hands while they walked to their room let Hyunjin know that it would surely take some time but he would gradually start to heal, even if it would be a grueling and onerous journey. 

It was at this moment that Hyunjin’s phone went off, with Minho’s silky voice on the other end asking him how he was. 

“Good, Min. Everything ok? Have you found something?” 

“No, not exactly but something hit me last night after I went to bed. You know how you were there that night ten years ago?” 

Like Hyunjin would ever manage to forget it. It was one of the most atrocious things he had ever managed to experience, the scene comparable to the battlefield he had been forced to fight upon and which had ultimately taken his life. Telling Minho in a soft voice that he did, the Warlock stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking up again. 

“I was thinking, what if I sifted through your memories of that night to try and get a better outlook on things you may have missed.” 

Hyunjin knew what Minho would essentially do if he were to inspect his memories of that atrocity. Unlike the spell that the Warlock had used to try and see if Seungmin’s memories had been blocked, Minho would have complete access to Hyunjin’s consciousness, only having to focus on that night in particular. Once he had captured the memories of that precise time, Minho would be able to see what Hyunjin did during the attack, like he was looking through the Vampire’s eyes himself. He wouldn’t be able to view anything that Hyunjin didn’t see but he would be able to zone in on everything that the elder mightn’t have thought important or that had passed him by in the blink of an eye. 

He had attempted to recollect that night in particular by himself but when it was nothing but a whirlwind of action in his mind, there wasn’t anything in particular that stood out at the moment, which is exactly what he already told Minho, Chan and Woojin.

“Hmm, I suppose that would be alright. I wouldn’t feel anything, right?”    


It wasn’t something that he had to address before but Hyunjin really didn’t take too kindly to someone, even Minho, rummaging around in his head. There were things that he never wished for anyone to see, things that were special to him, others that he knew would be terrifying for anyone to look upon but Hyunjin knew that this could be something that he could contribute to helping find out what happened in the past, what happened to Seungmin. 

“Once you’re under my spell, you’ll be able to see what I see in your mind and it might feel a little strange since I’ll be inside your head with you but it won’t hurt, Hyunjinnie. You have my word.” 

“Ok. Do you want me to come to your place or…?” 

That was how Hyunjin found himself sitting on Minho’s settee with a full glass in his hands as he awaited for the Warlock to finish setting up preparations for the spell. 

“Hyunjin, I promise you, there’s nothing to worry about. You will really only be seeing what you have already seen on that night. Try to focus and look around. Maybe we won’t find anything but that’s alright. It’s worth a shot anyways.” 

Setting the blood in his glass down, seeing as he felt far too nauseous to consume anything right now, Hyunjin politely folded his hands in his lap to show he trusted Minho. It was not an action to veil how his hands were trembling slightly. 

“Ok, Min. Let’s do this.” 

Getting the go ahead, Minho dragged a chair in front of Hyunjin, placing his index fingers on either sides of the Vampire’s temples and closing his own eyes, motioning for Hyunjin to do the same. 

Hyunjin knew that Minho was one of the most skilled Warlocks, not only in Korea but in the world, there was nothing he wouldn’t trust him with and this would be a hell of a lot easier than trying to get access to Seungmin’s memories. Feeling a strange sense of calm come over him which eased his nerves, Hyunjin let all of the rigidity flee from his body, leaving himself in Minho’s capable hands. 

After he had shut his eyes, the blackness behind his eyelids suddenly erupted into colour, alerting him to Minho’s magic beginning to work. It was muddled at first, images and faces passing by in a whir but Hyunjin remembered Minho telling him that he had to try and focus on the Christmas Eve they were looking for so that no unwanted memories would pop up in front of Minho’s eyes that the Vampire didn’t want him to see. With that thought in mind, Hyunjin let his memories fall back to the fateful night, trying his best to picture it and it only took a second before his buzzing thoughts came to a very abrupt halt, allowing Hyunjin to gaze upon the destruction he had witnessed ten years ago like he was standing there on that very night all over again. 

It wasn’t just the sights that took over but all of his other senses were reignited as well. The screaming of innocent civilians shot through his ears like nails against a chalkboard. Rotting, putrid flesh from the bodies being burned by the flames surrounding him wafted towards him and made him unknowingly gag. Gasps of horror left his mouth, not only from the setting in front of him but from the fear as well. The fear of trying to control himself when the blood of the dead was freely flowing through the streets. It was a monumental task but the Vampire knew he had to remain sane if he was going to be of any use to the wounded trying to get away from the madness. 

Even though his consciousness had returned to that night, his abilities with regards to his movements were nonexistent. Like Minho had said, they could only see what Hyunjin had witnessed on that night and nothing more. Even so, it may have been enough if they could find just one or two details that the Vampire had not noticed the first time around. 

Hyunjin already knew that his former self was being overwhelmed but he also knew that he had managed to make it to the end of that night without any mishaps on his behalf. Looking left and then right, Hyunjin saw himself run forwards, helping two young Mundane women from the ground before they could be trampled by people, escorting them to some medics who had arrived nearby. 

It continued like this for some time, with Hyunjin trying to assist as many people as he could. A few Vampires that were not a part of his clan had been caught up right beside the explosion, obviously not dying from it but suffering some serious injuries that were no doubt painful and would take a long time to heal by themselves without help. He quickly ran to them, telling them the address of his hotel and how they could find some refuge and medical attention there. With a thousand words of thanks, the three boys ran off, with Hyunjin calling up Soobin to tell him that they would have guests incoming and what exactly it was that had gone down. 

Minho continued to sift through the Vampire’s memories, up until the very next day when Hyunjin finally returned to his hotel room, only to collapse onto his bed in a fit of tears because of the fatigue and heartache but that’s exactly where his memories ended, the darkness returning and letting Hyunjin know that he could finally open his eyes. 

Even after basically reliving the entire event, Hyunjin couldn’t see anything of importance that would have alerted him to something dubious since he hadn’t outright been looking for it on the night in question. It was frustrating to know that, even though he was one of the only people who could possibly contribute in this specific way, he wasn’t being awfully helpful. At least, that’s what he thought. 

Just before his eyes parted, he heard rushing footsteps hurriedly sprinting away from him, only to see Minho’s chair empty when he came out of his own head. He thought it strange until he heard the telltale signs of the Warlock violently vomiting in the kitchen sink, the sound making the Vampire wince when he absolutely detested the very  _ idea  _ of being sick since he could no longer contract any human illnesses. Still, he knew that his friend was only in this state because of him, because of what he had witnessed inside his memories and went to his side, rubbing his back soothingly as he tried to avert his eyes away from the Warlock continually spilling his guts. It lasted another few seconds before Minho turned on the faucet, washing away any evidence and wiping his mouth with a paper towel. 

“Sorry, Hyunjinnie.”

“No, no, it’s alright, Min. Are you ok?” 

The Warlock shook his head rigidly, holding onto the countertop to support himself as he attempted to sit down somewhere but his legs gave way and only for Hyunjin caught him, Minho would have been a crumpled ball on the ground. With his arm slung around the Vampire’s shoulder and a strong hand around his waist, Minho was eventually settled at his dining room table, glass of milk and candy bar in hand to try and get his blood sugar stable, courtesy of Hyunjin. 

“Are you feeling any better, Min?” 

“Yeah, thanks. It’s just…fuck. Looking through your memories and seeing what happened that night…how could anyone instigate something like that? It was horrendous. So much blood-”

“Ok, ok,” Hyunjin interrupted, seeing Minho’s face starting to turn a greener shade when he continued to recall what he had seen in Hyunjin’s head. 

They sat in silence while the Warlock attempted to collect himself, the ticking of the antique grandfather clock that sat in the corner of the room being the only thing interrupting the quietude. Tapping the mahogany table with his fingertips while he ran over his memories of that night again, Hyunjin really couldn’t address anything that was of importance. 

“Seems like that was a bit of a waste of time, huh? There was nothing there that I could see that would be of any use to us,” Hyunjin yawned groggily, annoyed with himself that he couldn’t grant his friends any answers even though there was really nothing he could have done about it. 

“Not entirely.” 

Hyunjin raised his head to look at Minho, happy to see the Warlock’s face had returned to its regular appearance. The frown, however, had not been present before but it did not seem to be one of anger but of understanding and annoyance. 

“What do you mean, Min?”    


“It was hard to drag my attention away from what you were doing on that night but I knew that you would be sure to focus on it. So, I tried looking at the background, at the people fleeing the scene and there was someone I recognised.” 

Walking over to the bookcase by the door, Minho flicked through the files located there before pulling one out and throwing on the table towards Hyunjin. As it landed, a few photographs fell out of it, most of whom the Vampire did not recognise but he could most certainly see the runes decorating their bodies. 

“This is a file of all active members of the Clave.” 

Hyunjin startled at that, not only because he was certain that Minho was about to tell him that one of the members of the Clave had been there that night but, really, he was sure that the High Warlock of Seoul shouldn’t have been keeping records of Shadowhunters, especially ones in such high standing, in a hidden folder in his dining room. It was a breach of safety and protocol but Minho simply shrugged his shoulders to exhibit that he couldn’t care less. 

“This guy,” Minho cringed as he picked up one picture of a man who looked to be in his eighties or nineties, white hair with a slight wave to it and compassionate eyes hidden behind round glasses drawing Hyunjin’s attention to them. “He is one of the most senior members of the Clave. His name is Na Chinhwa. I met him once, when the meeting of all Downworld and Clave leaders was called after this incident to try and figure out what happened. When you were attending to that young Mundane girl, I saw him behind her. He had his hood up but he was simply walking away from the disaster, not aiding anyone in any way.” 

There had been numerous Shadowhunters sent to the city centre that night to assist in the relief efforts and no doubt each of them would have been run off of their feet trying to immobilise the demons and get as many survivors to some sort of medical treatment. It wouldn’t be all that strange for Chinhwa to be there too; it was possible that he had business in Seoul and had heard the emergency alert for all Shaodwhunters to respond to the call but the fact that Minho had said he was cloaked and moving away from the chaos only made his actions seem suspicious and left very little doubt in either of their minds. 

“So, what you’re saying is, there is a very strong possibility that even those involved in the Clave were entangled in this whole mess? That, what happened ten years ago, goes all the way up to the top of the chain of command?” 

Shuffling the papers and photographs back into the beige folder, Minho nodded insistently, an apprehensive feeling bubbling in his stomach, one he wasn’t sure how to get rid of. 

“We need to tell Wooj and Chan about all of this. We have confirmation that there were indeed Shadowhunters there that night that weren’t trying to aid in the rescue attempts. Fuck, why is this such a mess?” Hyunjin groaned, head falling into his hands. 

“Should we call them now? I don’t think we should sit on this kind of information for too long.”

Knowing that every Shadowhunter within the Institute was in danger if the Clave now knew that Seungmin was with them, Hyunjin instantly grabbed his phone and dialed Woojin’s number, knowing that Minho was right when he said that they needed to know about this as soon as possible. 

Within thirty minutes, both Chan and Woojin were sitting in Minho’s living room again, knowing that they wouldn’t have been called if their friends hadn’t found something. 

“I really don’t mean to sound rude but can we make this as quick as possible? I told Jisung that I was in my office and not to be disturbed but god knows my father couldn’t give two fucks about my orders and if he comes looking for me, I don’t know how I’m going to explain why I lied about where I was,” fretted Woojin, clearly a hell of a lot more on edge than the last time he had been here. 

Only Woojin himself seemed to miss the murderous side eye Chan was giving him and the small twitch of the Werewolf’s nose that revealed how pissed he was simply upon hearing about Yunseok. 

“We found something,” Minho began, reliving Hyunjin’s memories and letting them know about Na Chinhwa and how he had been there on that night but seemingly uninterested in helping those in trouble. 

“Na Chinhwa? Are you sure? He’s pretty much a pacifist, always pushing for nonviolent methods at apprehending rogue Downworlders. Plus, you realise he’s a dinosaur? He’s a scholar, a scientist, not a fighter,” Woojin insisted but it was more so out of disbelief. 

He wasn’t doubting what his friends had seen on that night, it just didn’t seem logical that someone like Chinhwa, who had always been so gentle and placid, even towards him, had been a part of a scheme like this, one they still didn’t even know the reason for yet. 

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to send someone like him then? Someone so inconspicuous that nobody would even think of linking him to it?” Minho reasoned, just trying to help the Shadowhunter understand. 

“Yeah, it’s beginning to make more and more sense to me.” 

All attention quickly turned towards Woojin, waiting for an explanation on what exactly that phrase had meant. 

“I’ll look into Chinhwa later but earlier, I was searching through our databases, there are thousands of files on that night but I found one that I couldn’t get access to because my clearance wasn’t of a high enough level. I would have completely overlooked it if I wasn’t searching for that particular night.” 

While none of them had access to said database, the Vampire, Werewolf and Warlock knew that every leader of the Institutes placed around the world had complete admission to the Clave’s servers. For Woojin not to be able to get into it, the file must have held something that the Clave didn’t wish for outsiders to see. 

“It said I need a higher security clearance to get in. The only one at my Institute with a higher security level than me is my father, so I need to get access to his computer.” 

A loud growl ripped throughout the room, making everyone recoil and cower a little at the ferocity of it. 

“Are you fucking stupid? You want to get your ass caught that badly? If he sees his clearance has been used for those files, he’ll know exactly who it was and you think he’ll let you get away with that?” 

Everyone was admittedly speechless after Chan’s outburst, none more so than Woojin who could feel the aggravation flowing from the Werewolf, wondering why he was acting in such an aggressive manner towards him but then again, he shouldn’t be all that surprised that Chan wasn’t being calm since even Woojin could admit that logging into his father’s computer was a pretty idiotic idea. 

“Well then, I’ll just have to be careful and make sure he doesn’t realise I’ve been using his codes,” Woojin replied smartly, an obvious irritation underlying in his words. 

With a heavy pressure settling in the air, Minho and Hyunjin could do nothing but stand by as the former couple were having their little spat in front of them. They had always been pretty civil towards one another during the meetings at the Institute but now that they were in a more relaxed, less formal environment, it seemed like their pent up frustration was going to be let loose. 

“You’re going to get yourself fucking killed if you don’t watch yourself,” Chan spat, crossing his arms in resentment and mentally leaving their conversation. 

“Then so be it.” 

It was a whispered comment that stung all of them deeply, the three knowing for a fact that Woojin would usually never think about saying something like that, even in jest. The Shadowhunter valued life above anything else; that was not simply the outlook for Woojin himself but it was the code of all Shadowhunters. They dedicated their lives to protecting the lives of the innocent and to hear Woojin have such little regard for his own didn’t sit well with any of them, especially when none of them knew the reason for the sudden change. 

“Wooj…” Hyunjin began but was abruptly cut off when the Shadowhunter jumped up out of his chair, swinging his coat over his broad shoulders and making his way towards the front door. 

“You don’t have to worry about me, guys. I’ll get the file before the end of the week, no matter what. I need to get back to the Institute now. You can let me know when you want to meet up again.” 

As he walked into the hallway, Hyunjin and Chan managed to pick up one last mumbled sentence with their enhanced hearing before the Shadowhunter disappeared from sight. 

“I’ll get to the bottom of this thing if it’s the last thing I do.” 

With that, the door shut loudly behind him, leaving the remaining three friends a little rattled at the Shadowhunter’s heartfelt outburst. The only thing that had changed between now and the last time that Woojin had met up with them was the return of his father and so, they all figured that it had something to do with Yunseok but were aware of just how much of a hold the man had over his son’s mental and emotional state, even before he had become leader of the Institute. They weren’t entirely sure how they could offer help when Woojin was unlikely to get anyone involved in his own personal familial problems. 

“What was that all about?” Hyunjin whispered, glancing at the door Woojin had just left through. 

“He’s such a stubborn ass,” muttered Chan, raising from his own chair in an attempt to leave. “He tries to act all high and mighty but he was scared, I could smell it. Whatever, it’s hardly any concern of mine what he does with his life. He made that abundantly clear. If he keeps doing dangerous stuff like this, he’s going to find himself in some deep shit.” 

It was meant to sound petty, irritated, irked but both Hyunjin and Minho knew that the Werewolf was worried about Woojin and what kind of mindset the elder seemed to have entered. Chan could deny it all he wanted, to others and to himself but those close to both parties could see that they still cared for one another in their own way, despite what had transpired between them, even though Minho and Hyunjin still had no clue as to what that was. 

“If anything else comes up, you can let me know. I’m still asking around for info about that night amongst the alphas but nothing of importance has come up yet. I have to get back to the pack. See you.” 

Even though both Chan and Woojin had now left, the residual tension from their bickering was still clinging to the walls of the Warlock’s apartments, making the space feel a lot smaller than it actually was for those still residing in it. 

“Well, that could have gone better,” Hyunjin snorted in a dismayed way, ruffling his hair and making his way to the kitchen where Minho always kept a jug of animal blood in the fridge for him. He was beginning to feel the effects of Minho’s magic now, realising that the altercation he had to sit through did nothing to ease his recovery from it. 

“Could have gone worse too,” Minho responded. 

“You think amidst all this we could try to find out what happened between the two of them as well?” 

Minho grunted in amusement, hopping atop his kitchen counter and watching Hyunjin fish out a glass from his cupboard. The Vampire knew his way around Minho’s house as if it was his own at this stage. 

“One ridiculously bothersome problem at a time, Hyunjinnie. Let’s find out about the murderous Shadowhunters first and then we can look into why our best friends won’t pull their heads out their asses and apologise to one another so that they can rekindle that sickeningly mushy romance they had going on before.” 

Staring out the full length window onto the eclipsed streets of Seoul, dazzling lights coming from the numerous buildings surrounding Minho’s home, both young men laughed quietly, a sombre connotation wandering between the notes as they lamented the misunderstood feelings that their friends had hidden away in their hearts. 

“They still love each other, don’t they?”    


Knowing that they did but not speaking it into existence since he was afraid he would jinx it, something strange for a Warlock to consider, Minho just pressed his lips into a straight line, averting his eyes from the Vampire and looking out the window once again. 

“We’ll figure it out eventually, Hyunjinnie but like I said, one bothersome problem at a time…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why can't I give Woochan nice things? Ah, this is on the nicer end of the scale for things to come...  
Anywho, I'm hoping to get more writing done now that I'm stuck in my house so we'll see when I update next but I may regret saying that since I've become lazier too...  
Next week, we have some Changlix and Jeongdam and looking at it, it's really just a lot of fluff. Strange for me...see you guys then


	31. Requited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you all yell at me for not taking a break like I said I was, I still am! I haven't written anything all week and honestly, it has been a nice break. But I have a couple of chapters written in advance, so I thought I might as well put this one up before I sleep. Just a quick word to say thank you guys for your messages on the update I put up earlier in the week. It doesn't happen too often but sometimes things just get the better of us. It's ok. We just do what we can and try to find some semblance of happiness to get us back on track. I'm doing a lot better but there is no guarantee that I will update this time next week again, depending on when I go back to writing. Hope you all are doing ok too. And if you ever need someone, come and talk to me on my Twitter. DM's always open for anyone. As is my CC if you don't feel comfortable talking to me directly. But I swear I don't bite! Hopefully you all know that already. Okie dokie. Fluffy fluff this week. Something that a lot were waiting for too. I offer up some Changlix and Jeongdam for you. Enjoy!

“Ok, so, hypothetically, if you were messing around with Jisung and he suddenly said ‘I hate you!’, how would you feel?” 

“It would be ok because I know that he doesn’t really mean it. He is only saying it due to the frustration and undeniable embarrassment he is dealing with from the constant teasing that we would subject each other to as friends.” 

“Very good, Lix,” Changbin snorted with a strange sense of pride. 

Today was a rare enough day in itself where the Shadowhunter and Faerie could walk around the grounds of the Institute without having to be bundled up in their hats and scarves, a sure sign that the bitterness of winter that usually nipped at their bones was slowly beginning to fade, allowing spring to come and take her rightful place in the world. 

Felix had once again come back to the Institute to see Changbin and the Shadowhunter couldn’t help but wonder if it had become noticeable to those back in the Fae realm that the freckled Faerie was no longer around as much as he used to be, especially when he was under the Seelie Queen’s thumb. The thought didn’t ever seem to enter Felix’s head and so, Changbin also decided to let the momentary idea fleetingly disappear. 

“And if someone says they are ‘spilling the tea?’” 

“A beverage has not mistakenly been overturned. It is a phrase that means to disclose information, especially that of which is of a sensitive nature,” Felix beamed, knowing that he had gotten that particular slang’s meaning correct since he had been awfully confused after Jisung had asked Seungmin to spill the tea with regards to his meeting with Yunseok.

It was becoming a little game between the two of them at the moment, with Jisung and Seungmin playing along whenever they were allowed to intrude on the alone time that the Shadowhunter so rarely got to spend with Felix. While modern music, movies, foods and books were popular topics when it came to Felix’s studies, everyone knew that the Faerie had a difficult time when it came to understanding the colloquialisms and sarcastic vernacular that was used amongst humans, especially the friends within the Institute, which is why Changbin was quizzing Felix on it today, all the while secretly leading him somewhere that the other young man was obliviously unaware of. 

“Oh! I meant to ask you, Binnie. Jisung said something the last day I was here and he wouldn’t tell me what he meant but he said to ask you instead.” 

There was something in his heart and soul that told Changbin that he was being set up by that idiotic squirrel that he called his  _ Parabatai.  _ While Jisung liked to joke around, he was awfully sweet towards Felix, knowing the Faerie was having a hard time and even offered to help him with his research if Changbin wasn’t available. Still, Changbin also knew that the younger had such an unbelievably crafty and calculating streak in his otherwise pristine soul, one he would use to prey on Changbin’s weaknesses when he would so choose. 

“What does to be ‘head over heels’ mean?” 

Choking on nothing but air, Changbin stared wide eyed at Felix who, being lost in his gullibility and unfamiliarity, simply stared back as he awaited an explanation. 

He was going to kill Jisung. 

“Why, Lix?”

“Well, I certainly do not understand because one would wish for their head to be over their heels since you would be in a very strange position indeed if this was not the case, right? I don’t really remember what we were talking about but Jisung told me to ask you what it meant because it was applicable to us. ” 

He was going to fucking  _ kill  _ Jisung. 

“Well…I guess…oh god, how do I explain this? It’s basically when a person likes somebody else a lot, significantly so.”

“Oh, so we are head over heels for each other, yes?” 

Flushing a bit because of the unforeseen question, Changbin waved his hands frantically in front of the Faerie, not wanting him to start saying that in front of others without knowing what it was that he was implying. Would Changbin mind a more intimate relationship with Felix? Of course not but he didn’t want the Faerie unknowingly entering something like that, making it seem like Changbin was taking advantage of his innocence. 

“No, no, Lix. It isn’t like that.” 

“It’s not? But you are an object of my affection. Am I not one of yours? You are a significant person in my life. Can I not be head over heels for you?” 

This was one of the goddamn weirdest conversations that Changbin had ever had the pleasure to encounter but ever since he met Felix, there were very few exchanges where at some point, Changbin didn’t feel like burying his face in his hands. 

But how,  _ how  _ could Changbin say no to the pouting Faerie in front of him when he looked like he was going to burst into tears at the thought of not being a meaningful person in Changbin’s life? It was truly easier just to accept the situation as it was and settle for pummeling Jisung into the ground later. 

“I’ll try and explain it a bit better later, Lix but yes, you are a significant person in my life, so stop with that sulky face,” Changbin snickered as he took Felix’s bottom lip between his fingertips and wiggled it a little, making the Faerie perk up and begin to giggle at the feeling. 

With that awkward conversation momentarily put aside, Felix now began to notice that they were no longer on the path he had walked on with Changbin before, delving deeper into the Institute’s grounds, overhanging trees casting a shadow over their heads. 

“Where are we going, Binnie?” 

“You’ll find out in just a second.” 

Turning another corner, Changbin held back on cooing at the Faerie when his face illuminated at the sight of the prodigious greenhouse that lay in front of them. It was rather substantial, the sun shining through the numerous panes of sparkling glass, a place where nobody but Changbin ever really ventured except for when plants and herbs were needed for Minho and such. 

Being a Fae, of course Felix would be closer with nature than any other Downworlder and rather than being stuck inside the Institute’s stone walls all day, especially with Yunseok moseying around within them, Changbin played with the idea that the other might like to be surrounded by what he was familiar with, wondering if it would bring him a little bit of joy. 

“This is where you grow your plants! I want to see them! Let’s go!” 

As he was dragged along, Changbin tried to push aside the angry gurgling within his stomach, knowing that the main reason he had brought Felix out here was to make him happy but also, for Changbin’s own reasons too. Ones that he was now unsure on whether or not he should say something like he planned. 

Not that Changbin would brag or anything but he always managed to keep the greenhouse in tip top condition, spending at least an hour or two a day here, even when he was worn out from a hard day’s work. He had sectioned the areas off and used the different ventilation methods and humidity regulations accordingly. Felix ran in the front door, seemingly already aware of where he wanted to go. The Faerie passed by the first area where Changbin kept the herbs such as mint, cilantro, parsley, basil and chamomile. It was apparent that Felix was also uninterested in the numerous delicious fruits and vegetables that the Shadowhunter grew all year round located on his right. It even surprised Changbin when Felix darted past the blooming flowers to his left, the vibrant gazanias, pansies and caladiums slowly moving in the wind that Felix had produced in his haste. 

No, what got the Faerie’s attention was the beautiful orange tree beginning to bear fruit that sat directly in the centre of the greenhouse, small benches around it that Changbin would often sit on with a mug of coffee and a captivating book. It was the Shadowhunter’s pride and joy, nothing else in the glass enclosure coming close. 

Felix immediately marvelled at its beauty, its strength and considerable height, smiling gently before placing a hand on the trunk and letting his eyes fall shut. Not wanting to startle the Faerie, Changbin simply sat on the ivory bench and waited, fondly glancing at the other young man until he finished whatever he was doing and began to open his eyes again. 

“She tells me you are a great friend,” Felix began, laughing melodiously when Changbin looked more than a little confused at his statement. “She oversees all of those under your care but says that you always take time to visit and make sure that every organism within the greenhouse has what they need.” 

“You can talk to them?” 

Now, Changbin was well aware that Fae had a special relationship with nature that humans like him would never be able to understand but he was not familiar with the idea of Faeries being able to directly communicate with flora or fauna like this. 

“Just with the trees. I can feel the emotions of all living things but most are too juvenile in age to give me anything more. Trees, like our friend here, have been around for many years, this one being older than both you and me combined. They hold a lot of wisdom, have seen time move slowly and seasons change. Even if you were never aware, she has taken in everything you have done for her and her friends. She is very thankful for your care.” 

“Oh, well, tell her she’s welcome.” 

“She can hear you, Binnie. You can tell her yourself,” Felix snickered innocently, hiding his radiant smile behind the back of his hand. 

That was it. That smile. That laughter. The absolutely luminous aura that Felix would constantly let out. That was what Changbin couldn’t help but want to drown in every single day and it was the other reason that the Shadowhunter had brought Felix away from the prying eyes of those within the Institute. If he was going to do this, then he was going to do this right. 

“Lix, can I ask you something and it’s completely ok to say no.”

“Of course, Binnie, you can ask anything of me,” Felix beamed, finally removing his hand from the tree’s surface and taking a seat beside the Shadowhunter. 

“I was kind of wondering if you would be in any way interested in possibly going out with me,” Changbin asked hurriedly, just wanting to get the question out there without finding a way to back out of it. There was no turning back now. All that he had to do was await an answer. 

“Ok, Binnie, where are we going?” 

For a split second, Changbin felt overjoyed that Felix had no problem in going out on a date with him, that the Faerie actually looked thrilled at the idea but as he began to think about it, Changbin realised that Felix wasn’t considering his question in a romantic kind of sense; he seemed to think the Shadowhunter was literally asking if he just wanted to go somewhere with him. 

“N-no, Lix. I’m asking if you’d like to go on a sort of date with me. You know, not just as friends…”

Shifting backwards a bit, Felix raised his eyebrows in surprise, almost in  _ confusion  _ at the question and based on his friends’ constant teasing, Changbin knew he hadn’t been subtle about his feelings towards the Faerie but it was obvious that Felix had never picked up on it.

“A date? Like a social interaction you go on to initiate a more intimate relationship? You wish to court me?” 

“Uh, yes, in a sense, I guess,” Changbin muttered while blushing furiously, rubbing his cheeks as the Faerie continually stared at him without a hint of discomposure. “Though I don’t think anyone has used that kind of terminology since the eighteenth century.” 

That smile that Changbin was talking about earlier? It was nothing, absolutely  _ nothing  _ compared to the one currently situated upon Felix's face when he heard that Changbin wanted to take their relationship one step further. 

“Really? Someone like you wants to court someone like me?”

Changbin wasn’t entirely sure what kind of person he was in Felix’s eyes but from the sounds of it, the Faerie seemed to think that there was no way that Changbin would ever be interested in him in any other way than platonically, made increasingly clear by his next statement. 

“Wait, this isn’t another joke, is it? Some sarcasm that I’m interpreting incorrectly? Because if it is, Changbin, it’s not funny.” 

“Lix, why would I ever joke about something like this? I want to take you out on a date because I like you, as more than a friend and I have for some time now. I think we fit together really well but if you’re not interested then-”

“No!” 

That hurt more than Changbin thought it would. He thought Felix liked him but maybe he had just been interpreting the Faerie’s affectionate gestures incorrectly. Of course he was. What Felix would do to those he considered a partner would be vastly different to what Changbin would have expected since their values and customs were distinct in so many other ways. It was stupid of him to think otherwise. Or, at least, that’s what he had begun to think until Felix intertwined their fingers and carefully placed his forehead to the Shadowhunter’s. 

“No, I’m interested! I would enjoy that very much. I am very fond of you as well, Binnie, as more than a friend too, I think.”

It wasn’t a definite confession since Felix gave off the impression that he was infinitely certain as to how he felt for Changbin but that was more than likely because of the fact that the only love he had ever gotten from someone was his mother. Trying to distinguish what he felt for a friend compared to for a lover was possibly confusing the Faerie somewhat. Still, it was a start and Changbin was more than determined to show Felix that he would fight for him, to show him that his feelings were genuine and that, over time, maybe the other would start looking at Changbin the same way. 

“Oh, well, that’s good, I guess.” 

“That’s your response? You don’t have anything more to say?” Felix snorted, unimpressed at the lack of jubilation from Changbin after he had agreed to be courted. 

“Ah, Lix, I’m not good at this kind of thing. I’ve been waiting so long to ask you out and I didn’t know if you would say yes. I didn’t really plan on what to do if you did.”

Drawing a tiny circle in the back of the Faerie’s hand with his thumb, Changbin kept his eyes firmly upon their linked hands, wondering if Felix could feel the little shake in his fingers from nervousness but also because of the excitement he could feel rocking his heart at the thought of finally advancing his relationship with the freckled young man. 

“Oh…” 

Upon hearing Felix’s breathy sigh, Changbin stopped his ministrations and caught the Faerie with his eyes upon their joined fingers too. 

“What? Is something wrong?” 

“No, not really. It’s just…” Felix trailed off, a small sullen look making his lip protrude. “When Faeries begin courting each other, it is a custom in my realm for the one proposing the courting to meet their desired mate’s parents to ask for approval.” 

Yet another thing that Changbin had been blissfully unaware of about Faeries and their traditions. 

“You…want me to meet your mom to ask her if it’s ok to date you?” 

“No, no, it’s alright. You don’t have to. It’s not like you do it here.” 

Despite how he was trying to brush it off, it was clear that this particular practice was important to Felix. Besides, Changbin already knew that Felix and his mother were impossibly close. They both relied heavily upon one another since nobody else was particularly helpful in their cruel realm. That was why Changbin gently lifted the Faerie’s chin, tapping the tip of his nose to gather his attention. 

“To be honest, I would like to meet her. To say thank you for helping my mother out that night she got lost in the Faerie realm and for giving me the blessing of your gods before I was even born. It would be an honour, really.” 

Hearing the creaking of the tree branches above him, Changbin looked upwards to see a slight breeze causing the leaves to sway, even though there was nothing of the sort to do so in the greenhouse with all of the doors closed. It was peaceful, quiet but Changbin began to wonder if the tree was moving of its own accord.

“She would be delighted to as well!” Felix squealed, bringing Changbin’s gaze back towards him. “When I told her I found out about my history with Areum, she said that fate had brought us together again and she was glad to hear that both you and your mother were doing well. I’m sure she would love to see the wonderful Shadowhunter that you have become.” 

Changbin had to admit that he was curious about Felix’s mother. He had heard about her, of course. Not only from Felix but from Areum as well. From the stories he heard, he was sure she was just lovely but wondered if that sparkling personality would remain when he would ask to court her son. 

“Well, not to sound rude towards your queen but I get the strangest feeling I would probably not be  _ too  _ welcome to go to your realm and have the meeting there.” 

That was the nicest way that Changbin could have possibly said that. He knew damn well that, even if the Queen would let him into the realm, he would no doubt be watched the entire time, invasively so.

“What if she comes here? She could come to the Institute or we could go out for something to eat. I can ask my mom to come as well.” 

“That would be really lovely. Thank you, Binnie, you’re so considerate.” 

Once again, Felix went to lean his forehead against Changbin’s but halted before he did so, looking into Changbin’s mesmerising eyes for a moment before moving his head to the side instead, planting a small kiss to the Shadowhunter’s cheek as a thank you. Given that Changbin was so easily flustered, his face grew bright red at the action, fanning his heated cheeks to try and compose himself. 

Felix’s mellifluous laughter floated upwards, blending with the waving leaves above them, the excitement of the spirit of nature hanging over them almost palpable as she watched a new relationship blossom, happy that two souls destined to meet were finally accepting their fate. 

* * *

“One sugar and a little milk, right?” 

Jeongin nodded towards Yedam as the younger poured the piping tea into the ceramic mugs. Per Yedam’s request, the Werewolf had once again returned to his apartment since Jeongin had promised that they would try to repair their somewhat broken relationship. 

It had been difficult, more so from Jeongin’s perspective. Just before he had departed Yedam’s home the last time, they had swapped numbers since the last one that Yedam had for Jeongin was most certainly out of date. Since then, Yedam had texted Jeongin a good morning and a good night message every single day, asking him how his day went, what he had done with his pack, filling him in on things in his own life that he had naturally missed. Yedam was trying so hard but Jeongin just couldn’t seem to find the right words to reply most of the time. It was perplexing seeing as Jeongin had spent the majority of his childhood and adolescence with Yedam but there was something there, something that was holding Jeongin back in a lot of ways. 

“It’s nice to see some things haven’t changed. Here you go,” Yedam smiled, handing the cup of tea to Jeongin. 

Sipping upon the cooling beverage, Jeongin remained silent, glancing about the apartment until his senses let him know that he was being stared at, eyes immediately looking back at the young man currently sitting beside him. 

  
“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just your eyes,” Yedam breathed, moving a little closer to Jeongin’s face. “They’re so blue.” 

Jeongin was about to say of course they were, his eyes had always been blue but then suddenly remembered that they, in fact, had been a deep brown before he had been turned; a detail that had somehow slipped his mind until Yedam had just mentioned it. 

“Yeah, side effect of being a wolf and all.” 

“Could I see it?” 

Placing his mug down on the coffee table, Jeongin sent the younger a look to show that he didn’t understand what it was he was asking of him. 

“Your…wolf. Would it be ok if I saw it?” 

If he was being honest, Jeongin wouldn’t have expected that question in a million years. Questions about his pack and his relationship with his alpha were already strange enough to be speaking about with Yedam but being asked to change into his wolf threw Jeongin so much that he stalled for a moment. 

“I don’t know, Yedam. There haven’t been many instances where I’ve had to transform on my own,” Jeongin muttered, knowing that he could control his wolf when Chan was beside him since the alpha had complete authority over his instincts but the times when he had unwillingly transformed from fear or anxiousness, Jeongin didn’t know how much restraint he would have over the animal inside of him. 

“Oh, I see. Are you worried about hurting me or something? I know you would never do anything like that,” Yedam placated, evidently having more faith in Jeongin’s abilities than he himself did. 

As he thought about it, Jeongin was sure that nothing bad would happen to Yedam if he were to lose control because Chan would undoubtedly stop him. While the younger Werewolf had told his alpha that there was no need to accompany him to Yedam’s home anymore, Jeongin could detect the worrisome pheromones that his leader let off just thinking about any scenario where Jeongin wasn’t beside him. He was doing his best to back off and let Jeongin be his own person but after the incident when Jeongin had met Yedam again for the first time, Chan was having a little bit of separation anxiety. 

As a compromise, Chan told Jeongin that he would wait in the coffee shop across the street from Yedam’s apartment for him. He had brought his laptop along with him to work on something, the subject of said work unknown to the younger but Chan insisted that it was always nice to get out of the house and experience a change of scenery. An obvious excuse so that he would not have to be too far from his pup for too long. Still, it did make Jeongin feel more at ease that his alpha was nearby should anything precarious occur and if he shifted to show Yedam his wolf, Chan would be here in no less that five seconds to restrain him if need be. 

Still, he despised the thought of ever losing himself like that. Jeongin promised himself that he would never bow down to the primal part of himself if he could help it but sometimes, things just got to be too much for him. 

And as much as he wanted to tell himself it wasn’t a factor, there was a small bit of fear in Jeongin’s heart that how Yedam perceived him might completely change once he saw the animal within him. Things weren’t the same as before but he never wished for Yedam to fear him. Like how he had been afraid of his brother. 

“O-ok. If you really want to see. I suppose I can show you but only for a little bit, ok?” 

Jeongin began to stand on shaky legs until Yedam caught his wrist, pulling him closer so that their knees were touching, the warmth the younger’s body gave off almost soothing Jeongin. 

“Jeongin, it was only a thought. You really don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable. I was just thinking that we have to get to know each other again since we’ve both changed and to get to know you again, I don’t want you to hide anything from me. Your wolf is a part of you now and you shouldn’t be ashamed of that.” 

Ashamed? Was Jeongin ashamed of what he had become? He would always tell Chan that he had come to terms with what he was now but it did cross his mind every so often that there was something now inside of him that he could possibly surrender to at any moment he felt too weak, something he had yet to hold complete mastery over. He wasn’t the person he had been before, a normal boy with a plan set out for his future. Right now, anything could happen and it scared Jeongin. 

“I can do it. Chan has taught me about control and if something goes wrong, he will be here in a flash to protect you,” Jeongin whispered, wondering why his voice wasn’t coming out confidently like he was hoping it would. 

“He won’t need to, Jeongin. I believe in you to keep me safe.” 

Yedam  _ did  _ believe in him. Jeongin could see it in his eyes and it put the Werewolf’s mind somewhat at ease. Though not completely. 

“I’ll be right back,” Jeongin stated, making his way to Yedam’s en suite and beginning to take off his shirt. 

Despite what so many books and movies would have people believe, clothes don’t just magically disappear and reappear on a Werewolf’s body and Jeongin had already gone through too many outfits by accidentally transforming and ripping his clothes to shreds. It would be awfully hard to explain to Chan when he came to pick him up why he had no clothes to return home in if he transformed so suddenly in the middle of the living room. 

Undressing himself fully, Jeongin turned to look in the mirror on the other side of the room, clinging to the sink and looking directly into his own cerulean eyes with a threatening glare, almost as if he was trying to warn his wolf to behave.

“You can do this, Jeongin. You won’t always have Chan beside you. You don’t need to be afraid.” 

_ “Innie?”  _

It was lucky that Jeongin was in the prime of his health because if his heart had been weak in any way, he was sure he would have promptly been dead on the ground with the fright that went through him when his own name echoed in his head. 

“Oh, for- Chan! You scared the hell out of me!” Jeongin shrieked lowly, clutching at his chest to will his heartbeat to return to a normal pace. He never even noticed the bond between him and his alpha opening so that Chan could speak to him, even when he was all the way across the street. 

_ “Sorry, I’m just checking in. Are you alright? You’re giving off some distress signals.” _

If Jeongin told Chan about his plan, he was unsure whether or not the elder would let him go through with it; not because he didn’t believe in Jeongin but because of those unmatched protective alpha instincts. 

“I’m alright. Just a little nervous about being with Yedam again but I’m good. No worries. I’ll call you when I’m ready to go home, ok?” 

_ “Ok, Innie. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”  _

And with that, the signal cut off. Jeongin was thankful that one of them had to initiate their bond to converse because as much as Jeongin loved Chan, he would hate if his alpha could hear every single one of his thoughts. 

Letting go of the edge of the sink, Jeongin closed his eyes, remembering what Chan told him to do whenever he would choose to transform. 

Become one with your wolf. Don’t let it take over but let it know that you are willing to work alongside it. You are not two separate beings but one and the same. There is nothing to fear. 

When Jeongin came back from the reassuring mantra inside of his head, he realised that his four paws were already on the tiled floor beneath him, sandy fur tickling between his toes, wildly tousling itself as he shook his body from side to side. He could no longer see into the mirror since his eyeline had fallen much further towards the ground. Though he was substantial in size, much bigger than any regular wolf, his form paled in comparison to the likes of Chan or Wonsik but as Chan had said, he was still a pup after all. 

Now that he had reverted back to his other form, Jeongin nudged the door open with his nose, slowly making his way back to the living room where he saw Yedam sitting on his couch watching tv as he peeked around the corner of the bedroom door. The Werewolf was in complete control and he felt proud of himself for that but he just hoped that it lasted until he decided to return to his human form. 

Finally stepping out into the light, Jeongin halted when Yedam gasped at the sight of him, the wolf not knowing what kind of thoughts were going through his friend’s mind. Telling himself not to fall to fear since that would undeniably lessen the dominance he had over his wolf, Jeongin merely waited until Yedam slowly raised himself off of the couch and moved towards him, crouching down and raising his hand but not making any move to touch Jeongin. It was only after a few seconds that Jeongin realised Yedam was waiting for him to make the first move, a sign of respect that certainly seemed to please his wolf. 

Jeongin moved his head forwards, letting his cold nose come into contact with Yedam’s palm as the younger man squeaked in surprise but ultimately began laughing in the end. 

“That tickles, Jeonginnie.” 

The laughter made Jeongin feel tranquil and secure, no longer worried about the younger’s reaction as he moved closer to Yedam when the other began scratching behind his ears, similar to how Chan would always comfort him when they would pop out unexpectedly. 

“You’re so beautiful, Jeongin. That shouldn’t be a surprise since your human form is beautiful too,” Yedam professed, twirling the golden strands of hair around his fingertips as Jeongin whined in embarrassment. “I didn’t think you would be this big though, it’s amazing.” 

Yedam didn’t see him as a monster, not at all. He still spoke to Jeongin like he would if he were human and that was what made the Werewolf realise that it was exactly as Chan had said. Be it in human form or wolf, Jeongin was still Jeongin. He wasn’t a separate person to his wolf but one and the same and the fact that Yedam knew that without having to tell him was rather refreshing.

The sure sign of tenderness and warmth as Yedam continually pet his head made Jeongin’s wolf purr until it, quite suddenly and very much against his will, turned into a satisfied howl that echoed throughout the apartment, the volume being significant enough that Yedam had to cease his TLC so that he could promptly cover his ears from the ear splitting noise. 

“Yah, Jeongin! Pipe down, would you? I’m going to get a noise complaint if you don’t-”   


The Mundane’s words were cut short when an abrupt rapping came upon his apartment door. Both heads shot towards the sound, a slight build up of fear clear upon Yedam’s face. It was mirrored in Jeongin’s eyes too and it was from that reaction that Yedam knew that it was not Chan knocking on his door to come and collect his pack member. Since Jeongin was still in his wolf form, which would take a couple of minutes to get out of, Yedam couldn’t very well let anyone see him like this and so, he ushered the Werewolf into his bedroom and shut the door behind him, making his way to where someone was continually pounding upon his door and opened it slowly. 

“Ah, Mr. Lim, what can I do for you?” Yedam inquired brightly as his landlord, a man in his mid sixties, stood there in the dimly lit hallway with a scowl on his face. 

“Yedam, what was that noise just now? It sounded like some sort of dog. I do hope that you don’t have any animals here. I don’t allow that in this building.” 

Technically, at the same time, Yedam did and didn’t have an animal in his apartment but he couldn’t particularly say that his old boyfriend turned Werewolf had just been showing him his inner animal and was hiding out in his bedroom at the moment. Well, he could have but guessed that he would promptly be told that he was just a tad crazy. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I was watching a nature documentary on wolves. Fascinating creatures. I didn’t realise that it was so loud that you could hear it next door. I apologise. I’ll try to be more considerate next time.” 

With that being said, the old man huffed tiredly and began retreating back down the hallway to his room. Mr. Lim wasn’t a bad person. On the contrary, he had let Yedam stay here for practically nothing since he wasn’t bringing in very much money at the moment, his only income from his part time job at a local florists. He was a little bit fussy, especially about noise levels but all in all, he was a sweet man that Yedam was thankful he had the luck to come across. 

As he exhaled to relax, Yedam heard the bedroom door open again when Jeongin trotted back into the living room, cocking his head to the side as if to ask Yedam if that was the best excuse he could have come up with. 

“Don’t you dare look at me like that, Yang Jeongin. I just saved your ass from being found out because your stupid self couldn’t keep it down!”

Plopping down onto the burgundy couch, Yedam groaned at how close they were to being discovered and if he had nosier neighbours, he wouldn’t have been able to explain why there was a giant wolf in his apartment without putting the whole Downworld and possibly getting murdered by the Clave. Letting out a small ‘oof’ when he felt something fall upon his thigh, Yedam looked down to see Jeongin’s head upon his lap after the sandy wolf had jumped onto his couch and settled down to lie upon it. The Mundane snorted comically, once again running his fingers through Jeongin’s hair atop his head, not understanding how his fur could be so damn soft. 

“Why is it you have the exact same puppy eyes you do as a human, huh?” 

A little whine from the wolf told Yedam that he didn’t know but he didn’t care all that much when he was utterly and completely comfortable as he snuggled into Yedam’s tummy and let his eyes droop shut for just a moment. He would have to call Chan soon to come and pick him up and transform back to his human self. But not just yet. Now, he was relishing in the familiar scent of his friend, the intimate feeling of his hands continually massaging his scalp. Yes, he was just resting his eyes. Just for a moment. 

“Hey, Innie. Wake up, pup.” 

Growling a little as he was roused from his sleep, Jeongin didn’t want to leave Yedam, didn’t want anyone to get in between his alone time with his mate. 

His mate?

Jeongin quickly jolted when he realised he had just warned his alpha in a rather threatening way not to disturb him. It had been a mistake, his drowsy state causing his mind to delay his thought process for a fraction of a second longer than it should have. With a saddened look in his bleary eyes, Jeongin whimpered a little as he searched for Chan’s face. 

“You’re alright, Innie. I’m sorry to wake you but it’s time to go home.” 

Confused by the statement since Jeongin hadn’t called him yet, the younger wolf looked out the window to see that stars were already dotted across the sky, the crescent moon casting a glow upon the city below. Jeongin had fallen asleep in his wolf form, for how long, he couldn’t even guess but it was long enough that Chan had come searching for him by himself. 

Looking around the apartment, Jeongin saw Yedam cleaning the kitchen of all the cutlery that had been lying around. That was something that Jeongin had scolded him for when he came in earlier today, telling Yedam that he needed to pick up the slack on keeping his apartment tidy. 

Bolting into the bathroom, Jeongin calmed himself and slowly started the process of falling back to his human form, putting his clothes back on and returning to the living room where he found Chan leaning over the island counter and talking quietly with Yedam. 

“He’s comfortable enough to show you his wolf? That’s a big step for him,” Chan whispered, not taking any notice of Jeongin walking back into the room. 

“I’m thankful that he did. His wolf is truly stunning, just like the rest of him.” 

It was a big deal to Jeongin that Yedam was complimenting his wolf, the animal itself howling loudly in the depths of his chest to signify that the Mundane was definitely in its good books now. 

“He’s been struggling a bit but I think that what you did for him today might help him. Thanks, Yedam.” 

“You nearly clawed my throat out the first time we met and now you’re thanking me? Wow, I appreciate that. At least I don’t have to fear for my life anymore,” Yedam laughed heartily but when Chan mumbled a slight ‘as long as you don’t hurt him’, he quickly shut up, the laughter being replaced by the alpha’s instead. 

“Chan, I’m ready to go,” Jeongin declared loudly, making the other two men raise their heads to look at him with fond smiles. 

As Chan guided him to the door with a hand between his shoulders, Jeongin halted and turned around to face Yedam once more, simply staring at the other who currently had his arms wrapped around himself to protect his body from the slight nip in the air since the heating didn’t seem to be working all that well. 

His instincts were screaming at him to do it, his wolf also whining for Jeongin to take the leap and just put himself out there, to put himself in a position he had been in so many times before and who was he to say no to the most inner desires his heart held? 

Yedam left a small gasp go when he was finally nestled in Jeongin’s arms, a hug so gentle that it made the Mundane feel completely safe and encased in the warmth he had missed for far too long. Melting further into the Werewolf’s arms, Yedam’s ten thousand watt smile could have lit up an entire nation with how happy he was that Jeongin no longer tried to keep his distance from him, that they were slowly but surely rebuilding the relationship that had been broken for way too long. 

“I’ll call you tomorrow, Yedam. Thank you for everything today.”

“No problem, Jeonginnie. I really enjoyed spending time with you and if, you know, you ever want to watch nature documentaries again with me, you’re more than welcome,” Yedam snickered when Jeongin punched him firmly in the arm when he realised what he was referring to. 

As the young wolf left the apartment with Chan, he couldn’t help but clutch at his chest with his fist, a strange but comfortable feeling taking over. 

“You ok, Innie?” 

“Yeah. I just feel…lighter than I have in a long time.”

Jeongin missed the small smirk his leader wore upon his face when he heard that but it was true. A substantial weight had been lifted off of the young Werewolf’s shoulders and he had the strangest feeling that, the more time he spent with Yedam, the lighter his soul would continue to feel. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say I would tell you guys about my next series too, didn't I? Well, though I don't have all of the ideas completely down yet, the idea I formulated with my friend was for a skz pirate au. (completely original I know) but listen, there are lots of twists and turns in it that hopefully you guys won't see coming. Is Chan the captain I hear you ask? Yes...yes he is but still! There may be a one or two one shots written before that, one fluffy minsung one in particular that I've wanted to write for ages but my next big big project will be the pirate au. I'm looking forward to it. See you guys....at some point, whenever that will be!


	32. Culmination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends! I have returned! Even though I am technically uploading on the same day I usually do...   
But I've slowly started writing again after I took a week off. It was great in one way to relax and awful in another because I literally forgot how to write over that week but anyways.   
Coming to you again with another chapter which is...not as fluffy as the last but what do you expect? For me to keep feeding you fluff?   
We're slowly building towards the climax. Not the end though! Still a good way to go before that. Ok, onwards!

Jisung had to admit it. Being on edge was not all that fun. Ever since his whole escapade with Minho on their last night out, Jisung had been fighting a constant internal struggle with himself. He honestly didn’t know what he was supposed to do anymore and it wasn’t like he could ask anyone for any advice. Even if his friends knew about his predicament, it almost seemed as if they were slowly drifting away from him. 

For reasons unknown, Woojin had been rather distant lately and Jisung missed the bear hugs he used to receive on the daily. Now, he was lucky if he saw Woojin for more than a couple of minutes a day with whatever had him occupied. Cooping himself up in his office was highly unusual for the leader, even when Yunseok was around and it was worrying Jisung to no end. 

On the other hand, Jisung  _ knew  _ what had Changbin engaged. That beguiling little Faerie. Though he wanted to be angry at Felix for stealing his  _ Parabatai’s  _ time away from him, Jisung actually loved the freckled young man. He was sweet and charming, adorably innocent and wanted nothing more than to make new friends but Changbin was so enamoured with him that he seemed to forget all about how Jisung needed reassurance and attention every so often and being mistakenly ignored by the two people he held closest to his heart was unsettling him even further than he already was. 

Even Areum wasn’t around the Institute as often and Yunseok seemed to be practically everywhere at once, inspecting every little move they would make. It was torturous and everything was slowly beginning to pile up on top of Jisung to the point where he felt like he couldn’t breathe. 

And maybe that had become apparent to Seungmin when he asked Jisung if he would like to accompany him into town while he ran a few errands, just to get him out of the Institute. 

As if he could ever say no to Seungmin. That’s how he found himself sitting upon a park bench, waiting for the younger as he had momentarily run off to buy some more stationary for his studies since the notebooks that Jisung had already given him were beginning to be filled to the brim with important information for his evaluations. 

Tipping his head back and closing his eyes, Jisung breathed in slowly, not noticing how much he missed just basking in the sounds of everyday life, not worrying about complicated relationships, agonising over what was expected of him and how he was letting people down or the looming threat of more demon attacks that could uproot so many people’s lives. Jisung needed to remember that sometimes, he just needed to detach from it all and allow himself some peace. He was a human before he was a Shadowhunter and he had the oddest feeling that his parents would berate him for not taking care of himself if they were still here today. 

The sounds of a child laughing wildly caused Jisung to focus back in on his surroundings, looking ahead to see a boy with chocolate curls, no more than seven or eight, falling into the grass as his mother chased him, arms raised and growling overdramatically as she told the small boy that the tickle monster was going to gobble him up. Jisung unwittingly giggled along when the kid began to scream as his mother’s fingers grabbed at his sides before pulling him up to her chest and leaving loving kisses all over his face. 

It reminded the Shadowhunter of the countless times he had come to this very same park with his parents and how Jisung would tire himself out in the playground or would play hide and seek with his father. When his little legs could no longer carry him, his mother would drag him up into a piggyback before going to get some ice cream and return home. He would think of them often but it was little memories like this, ones that reminded him of all of the good times they had together, that would make him miss them the most. 

“Hello there.” 

Never in his life did Jisung ever think he would want a Downworlder ability but damn, did he wish he could take Felix’s wings and fly right out of this situation. In no way, in no universe did Jisung want to start a conversation with the gorgeous brunette with a halo around her head as it eclipsed the sun. 

“Oh, hello, Nari.” 

“Daesung, right?” 

With tongue in cheek, Jisung had to try with all his might not to snap at the woman who had very intentionally gotten his name wrong. How did he know? The smile situated upon that stunning face of hers held no sweetness whatsoever, just a hint of malevolence and the Shadowhunter could already guess why. 

“It’s Jisung, actually but you already knew that.” 

“Ah, of course, of course. How silly of me,” the Warlock mocked, taking a seat beside Jisung even though he in no way indicated he wished to prolong this interaction any further. The only way they knew each other was their mutual relationship with Minho, which, when he thought about it, wasn’t the greatest thing to have in common. 

“Can I do something for you, Nari? Did you just happen to see me and decide to strike up a conversation or have you taken to stalking me?” Jisung grumbled and,  _ maybe,  _ he was being a little more antagonistic than necessary but after what she had said to him or, towards him, at the bar and called him an ‘unwanted distraction’ in her text to Minho, he would quickly admit that he wasn’t all that fond of the beautiful Warlock. Not just for the other reason that she had much more of a shot with Minho than he ever would. He wasn’t bitter about that. 

“Well, you are fiesty. I guess that’s why Min keeps you around.” 

Minho had insisted that they were just friends back in the bar, for Jisung’s sake more than anything but Nari was already apparently of the opinion that the Shadowhunter shared the same kind of relationship with Minho as she did. No point in trying to deny it right now anyways. It wasn’t like she was going to out their relationship to everyone at the Institute. 

“He’s my best friend and I’m his. Our relationship isn’t just based on fooling around. We actually enjoy each other’s company outside of all of that stuff too. We like spending time with one another.” 

“Oh, come now, Jisung. Let’s not be naive. It may be just fooling around to him but that’s not all it is to you.” 

Jisung couldn’t help the small gasp that fell from his lips before the Warlock smirked wickedly, her aura of depravity similar to a black widow that had caught prey in her web.

“Wha-”

“Please, you’re not special in that regard. Everyone that gets with Minho develops some sort of feelings for him at some stage. That’s why his hookups change so often. He can’t stand continuing a relationship with someone if he finds out they’re romantically interested in him,” she explained while adjusting the straps of her lavender dress. 

“Are you trying to say that you have feelings for him too?” Jisung asked, taking the bait and falling deeper into the conversation. 

“Of course. I mean, I’ve known him for over thirty years. He’s hot, powerful, he dresses well, his apartment is fabulous, probably the best kisser I’ve ever had, amongst  other things. It would be nice to have someone everyone else wants.”

With mouth agape, Jisung quickly scoffed and bit down on his tongue. Did Nari honestly think that’s what it meant to have feelings for someone? Everything that she had just mentioned about Minho was completely superficial. It was just a case of mimetic desire; she only wanted Minho because so many others did too. If she had asked Jisung what he liked about Minho, the Shadowhunter would have had a very different answer. 

Jisung would of course admit that Minho was beautiful and exceedingly influential but those would never be the first things that he would say when he would list out the numerous wonderful qualities the Warlock had. He would talk for hours about how kind and gentle Minho was. Jisung would point out his adorable goofy smile and the way his eyes would light up and look like they held an entire galaxy within them when he laughed. There would never be a day when he wouldn’t appreciate how Minho always made sure that Jisung was comfortable and consenting before they did anything together. It would always make him giggle if Minho ever got shy and a light pink dust would cover his cheeks or when he would get really flustered and let his glamour fall, causing his darling little cat ears to pop out. Jisung could never hold back on a coo when Minho would get sleepy and start to slur his words and become clingy or when he was completely invested in trying to master a spell that he concentrated so hard he could block out the entire room. 

_ Those  _ were the things he loved about Minho, the things that showed the kind of person he truly was and to hear Nari make it sound like there was nothing more to Minho than his body and possessions made Jisung want to rudely tell her where to go. Which he did. 

“Wow, you’re really shallow, aren’t you?” Jisung accused, shocking Nari so much that she sat up that little bit straighter as her expression darkened. “You don’t know anything about him, the  _ real _ him. Have you ever taken the time to ask him about himself? Or do you guys keep your relationship strictly within the confines of the bedroom?”

“I would be careful with how you speak to me, Shadowhunter. I could easily destroy what you have with him. All I have to say are a few little words and he’ll drop you ever so quickly.” 

A threat with a tone that showed she wasn’t playing around and intended on seeing it through should Jisung anger or insult her any further. 

“Whatever. It won’t matter for much longer anyways.” 

Nari was ready for an obvious counterattack but the spite filled words that were about to be used against Jisung never left her mouth as Seungmin came running towards them with a paper bag in hand, folders and pages sticking out over the top. With a satisfied grin, the redhead was about to call out to Jisung before he saw he wasn’t alone, slowing his pace until he was within talking distance.

“Hey, Sung. Everything ok? Ready to go?” Seungmin questioned, throwing a small smile to Nari, though he could tell from Jisung’s body language that he had not had a pleasant conversation with the unknown woman. 

“Yeah, Minnie. Goodbye, Nari,” Jisung said flatly, grabbing onto Seungmin’s hand and leading him away from the Warlock, not even glancing back at the woman who was emitting a dangerous air from where she still sat. 

“You really are a gullible child if you think you will ever mean anything more to him!” 

With his hand clutching Seungmin’s one tighter, Jisung tried to ignore the sly remark, wanting nothing more than to scream back at her that he already knew that. But he didn’t. Instead, he focused on not letting such a jealous and frivolous woman like her see the tears that were beginning to coat his eyelashes. 

Passing the small playground to his right, Jisung was thankful that they had almost exited the park so that he could just curl up with Bomi in his bed and maybe cry silently to himself for the evening, though he knew he couldn’t do that since the meeting of the leaders was tonight and he had to attend like always. Still, he wasn’t even granted the small favour of that possibility by the angels when Seungmin stopped in his tracks, pulling on Jisung’ hand and forcing the elder to go stumbling backwards into his friend’s arms. 

“Sungie, are you alright?” Seungmin inquired, keeping a firm hold on Jisung’s shoulders where he had caught him. 

“I’m fine, Minnie. Let’s just go home, yeah?” 

It seemed he had fallen out of the seraphim’s good graces today when Seungmin held Jisung closer to his chest, only to direct him away from the park’s gates and towards the playground somehow void of any children. Seungmin slowly lowered Jisung onto one of the swings before depositing his bag of belongings to the ground and positioning himself on the other swing beside his friend. 

“So, who was that?” 

“Nobody, Minnie. Just a friend of a friend.” 

Which…was technically true. Though, from the sounds of it, Nari wanted to be a hell of a lot more than that to Minho. Whether Minho wanted the same thing was still unclear but the way he had acted towards her in the bar didn’t rule out the possibility that the feeling was mutual. 

“Ok, then what did she mean when she said that you will never mean anything more to him? Who is ‘him’?” 

Jisung’s breaking point was quickly coming into view, the Shadowhunter’s hands running themselves over his face as he tried to look anywhere but at Seungmin’s fretful gaze. It was destroying him, keeping something like this from his friends but he could never tell them about his situation, not directly. 

“Minnie, it doesn’t matter. She was right. Can we please just drop this?”    


A beat of silence. A tender whisper of the wind floating past their ears. A moment of lenient compassion surrounding them before it was all shattered by Seungmin’s next question. 

“Was she talking about Minho?” 

There was no way Seungmin didn’t notice Jisung’s over the top reaction to his inquiry. The Shadowhunter’s head shot to the side, lips shaking as he attempted to deny the accusation but became overtly frustrated with himself when he couldn’t seem to form the words he needed to defend himself. 

“What? No. Why would she be talking about Minho?” 

“Jisung, I may be new to this whole Shadowhunter business but I’ve always been rather good at reading those around me. I have seen the way you look at him when you think nobody is paying attention. It’s the same way I look at Hyunjin.” 

Did he really look at Minho like that? Jisung had always tried so hard to keep his affection towards the Warlock guarded and close to his heart but from the sounds of it, he may have failed in masking them completely from those around him. 

“That’s not…” 

“Is that where you go when you disappear from the Institute in the nighttime? To Minho’s apartment?” 

Maybe instead of becoming a Shadowhunter, Seungmin could have just applied to be a detective because, in the month that he had been with them, he had already discovered the entirety of Jisung’s escapades that he had successfully concealed from everyone else at the Institute. 

“I went to ask you something one night when it was pretty late. I know you usually lock your door but when I tried, it was open. Bomi was asleep on your bed but you weren’t there. I was going to say something to Woojin but I waited until morning just in case, like the first time I found your bedroom empty and there you were, back acting like you had been there all along. Do you go to see Minho?”

No, no, no. Seungmin already knew way too much. He was going to end up telling Changbin and Woojin about all of this. They would be so disappointed in him after they knew he had been lying to them for so long. Minho would find out eventually and end up leaving him. Why would he want to be friends with him anymore when he had been pining after him so creepily for the past three or four months? All of them would look at him differently, he didn’t want to let them down, he didn’t want to lose any of them. 

“Hey, Sungie. Shh, look at me. I need you to breathe for me, ok?” Seungmin tried, grabbing Jisung’s knees to let him know he was there. 

Jisung had to wonder why until he saw the white knuckled grip he had upon the chains of the swing, his breathing much faster than he ever remembered it being. It was then he realised that he had descended into a full blown panic attack. 

“Yeah, just like that. You’re alright, don’t worry.”

“M-Minnie, you can’t tell anyone, ok? I-I don’t want Wooj or Bin to think less of me. Minho can’t know about how I feel about him e-either. Please, Minnie, I can’t-”

“Sungie, I won’t say anything to anyone if you don’t want me to. This conversation stays between us. Please, just try to calm down.” 

Jisung shot his hands forwards, grabbing onto Seungmin’s and pulling him closer until they were embracing each other and the warmth that Jisung felt around him, encompassing his mind and heart was all he needed to finally let go. Wails of pure desperation and heartache tumbled from Jisung’s lips, the torment and strain that had been building up over the last week finally getting the better of him as he fell further into Seungmin’s arms and continued to sob like a forlorn child, just as Nari told him he was. 

A playground such as this one was usually a place of laughter and delight, elation and glee but as the two young men huddled together whilst the elder worked out his tears of irritation, it held nothing but an air of distress and dismay. It was about five minutes later when Jisung’s cries had died down to sniffles and hiccups, just enough for him to detach himself from Seungmin and wipe at his eyes with shaking hands. 

“Sorry, Minnie.”

“Don’t be, Sung. It’s ok,” the younger assured, brushing Jisung’s hair away from his eyes as carefully as he could. “I just want you to talk to me so that I can help you.” 

Debating on whether he should say anything more but thinking it couldn’t really hurt all that much since Seungmin had already deduced enough on his own, Jisung licked his lips but jumped when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, taking it out to see a selfie of him and Changbin during his last birthday party that he had assigned to the be the elder’s contact picture. With terrified eyes, Jisung held out the phone to Seungmin, already berating himself for acting in such a way when he knew why his  _ Parabatai  _ was calling him. That bloody bond again. 

Without hesitation, Seungmin took the phone in his hands and accepted the call. 

“Hello? Yeah, Bin, it’s Seungmin. No, no, he’s alright. We were just…talking about our families and I asked Jisung about his parents. He got a bit upset is all. He’s freshening himself up in the bathroom, we’re in a cafe and left his phone on the table. I’m sorry if we scared you. Yeah. Yeah, I promise, I’ll look after him. Ok, I’ll see you later at the meeting. Say hi to Felix for me. Bye.” 

Seungmin was a good friend, willing to lie, quite skillfully, for Jisung so that his secret wouldn’t be outed, seeing how the mere thought terrified him. Even so, Jisung knew that he wasn’t going to get away with avoiding this topic for much longer with Seungmin, not when he had just shown such vulnerability and how much it affected him. 

“So, this whole deal with Minho?” Seungmin started, hoping that Jisung would continue the story of his own accord. 

“We started seeing each other about seven months ago and it was just a physical thing. It was more of an outlet for stress than anything else,” Jisung muttered almost ashamedly, seeing two kids with their grandma run up to the slides on the other side of the playground. “But a few months ago I…”

“You developed feelings for him.”

A solemn nod of his head was all that Jisung could manage, wondering how Seungmin must see him now. 

“We agreed that this wouldn’t turn into anything more but my stupid self ended up falling for him. I’ve been his friend for so long, I don’t even know how this happened. It shouldn’t have. Not just because of the fact that we promised we wouldn’t but…”

“But?”

“It’s not like a kid like me would ever have a shot with someone like him.” 

Jisung didn’t even need to look up to see the sympathetic gaze Seungmin was giving him; he could feel it weighing him down. He already knew what the younger was going to say, what friends would always say about the possibility of being with the one you want but it wasn’t what he wanted to hear right now. 

“Why not? Of course you would, Sung. Min loves you.”

“But not in the way that I want.” 

“Sungie…”

Grabbing Seungmin’s bag from where it had been discarded earlier, Jisung popped up with a spring in his step, shaking his head from side to side in an attempt to erase all of those horrid, unwanted thoughts that had been harassing him. 

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Jisung tried with a bright tone, knowing that Seungmin didn’t for one second believe that he was magically alright with everything again but knew all the same that his friend would keep his secret should he so ask. “Come on, we shouldn’t be late for the meeting.” 

But Jisung was right, it didn’t matter anymore because he had already decided what it was that he had to do. 

* * *

Woojin was doing his best to stop the tremors in his hands as he walked to the meeting room where the others would be arriving shortly. The last thirty minutes had possibly been the most nerve wrecking of his entire life and what he had discovered wasn’t doing all that much to calm him down either. 

Knowing that their weekly gathering was tonight, Woojin was adamant that he would live up to his promise to get his hands on that hidden file that had escaped his grasp earlier in the week. An opportunity had presented itself to him too. His father had mentioned that he would be out of the Institute for an hour or so but that he would be returning in time for the meeting. Despite Woojin assuring him that there was no need to oversee it, Yunseok ignored him as usual, saying that every leader of each Institute around the world was subject to inspections and he would conduct one for Woojin as long as he was here. That did wonders for Woojin’s ever growing anxiety. 

Still, with such favourable circumstances given to him, Woojin knew that this may be the only time he could go into his father’s office without being caught. Of course, he could have waited until Yunseok had returned to Alicante but he honestly didn’t know when he would be leaving and Woojin was determined to get to the bottom of this whole mess quickly. The system was corrupt and suspecting everyone around him was causing Woojin to become overly paranoid about every single thing he did within the Institute and sometimes, outside of it too. Knowing Seungmin was in constant danger also caused Woojin to become more vigilant in having someone with him at all times. That’s why he told the younger to take Jisung with him on his outing today since Jisung was more than capable of protecting himself and those in his care. He wouldn’t let a single hair on Seungmin’s head be harmed, not when they had been without him for so long. 

After he watched Yunseok leave the Institute, Woojin walked around for another five minutes just to make sure that his father wouldn’t suddenly return while he was in his office. It was only a few doors down from his own station, so Woojin strolled to his office first, put on some music inside to make it seem like he was working and not to be disturbed and then made his way to the room three doors down. Thankful that the door hadn’t been locked since his father had returned to the Institute, Woojin slipped inside, closing the door as quietly as he could and ran to the computer where he hoped this task would take no more than a couple of minutes. 

He already had the file number in hand when he booted up his father’s computer, quickly logging into the servers and typing the number in. Eyes continuously darting towards the door, Woojin had never been more impatient in his life as the computer seemed to be working as slowly as it possibly could, like it was mocking the limited amount of time he had. 

As the file number popped up, Woojin prayed that all of this trouble had not been in vain, that he hadn’t just wasted all of this time trying to gain access to a file that even his father was denied admission to. However, instead of an error message being displayed as he clicked on the folder, pages filled with formulas and anatomy diagrams jumped across the screen, ones that Woojin couldn’t make sense of until he pulled up the second page within the hidden documents. 

_ ‘Log start. _

_ Facility 0325 location discovered. Immediate withdrawal and demolition of the site deemed necessary.’  _

Woojin scrolled further down the page. He had never heard of a place called Facility 0325. It had never come up in any books he had studied, in any meetings he had attended as leader. The name meant absolutely nothing to him but when it was from a document that was written when he was still a teenager, maybe it no longer held significance now or maybe it held far too much. 

_ ‘Experiments carried out at Facility 0325 provided innumerable pathways into discovering how it was that the subjects abilities and bodies functioned and how they could be used in our favour. However, the committee overseeing these experiments were displeased with the majority of the trial runs, with numerous subjects only being useful for a short amount of time before their bodies gave out. With regards to their contribution to enhancement, only a single case was confirmed as a success from their DNA.’  _

“Procedure? Subjects?” Woojin kept moving further and further into the file to see if he could find out who or what they were referring to. 

_ ‘Upon discovery of Facility 0325 by unnamed Shadowhunters within the Seoul Institute, the council gained a unanimous decision to shut it down but with evidence to suggest what had been carried out there, the board was resolute that it had to be destroyed. Given the location, there were very few ways to carry out the demolition that would result in total annihilation of all data. With the help of the successful experimentee, a portal to Edom was established and on the 24th of December, a hoard of demons was unleashed upon the city of Seoul. Their presence camouflaged our whereabouts and allowed those present to set up a detonation device that quickly eradicated any proof that Facility 0325 ever existed in the form of an explosion.’  _

If Woojin ever had any doubts that the organisation he had dedicated his life to was behind what had happened ten years ago, they were most well and certainly destroyed now. More than anything, Woojin felt like burying his face in his hands and just screaming until his throat was raw. How was he supposed to represent and stand for an institution that had destroyed so many lives and had tried to cover it up? They had unleashed demons upon the city so that they could hide the destruction of their facility away so that they wouldn’t get caught. What this place wished to achieve was still unclear and the fact that they would have needed a Warlock to open a portal to Edom but instead said that an ‘experimentee’ had done it made Woojin even more confused. 

_ ‘The data was saved and stored in the archives in Alicante. No other records besides that exist for the safety of those involved. Not every member of the Clave had been aware of the dealings that transpired and should word get out, there would no doubt be an uprising. To keep the identities of those acquainted with this research and undertaking, the experiment within the Facility has been put on hold until another suitable accommodation can be acquired to continue. The study shall hereby be postponed for ten years until suspicions will not fall upon those who had been involved. _

_ Log end.’  _

Slumping back into his chair, Woojin was surprised at himself that he seemed to be so shocked that he had discovered that Shadowhunters were definitely behind the Christmas Eve massacre, like his heart still held some hope that Jihoon had been mistaken but apparently, he had not been. 

Slipping a USB key from his pocket, Woojin inserted it into the computer and began downloading the file, wanting proof to show Minho, Hyunjin and Chan the next time they spoke. He also thought about the fact that, if they did eventually manage to make it to the bottom of this god forsaken rabbit hole, he may need validation that they had not been making all of this up should the file mysteriously go missing at some point. There were other documents in the file to read but Woojin knew he could do it at another time, not wanting to spend anymore time sitting here. 

As the percentage of the download began to rise, Woojin silently begged for it to speed up, hating how his father’s computer looked like it belonged back in the nineties; the sluggishness of the whole process killing him slowly. 

“Areum, enough, I don’t need to listen to this any longer.” 

Pure ice began to shoot through Woojin’s veins at the sound of his father’s voice hastily making its way towards him. If he was discovered, there was absolutely no way he would be able to explain why he was here without his father’s permission. Even without the personal problems between the two of them, the fact that he had broken into a superior’s office and pried into classified information on his computer could not only have him demoted from leader of the Institute but he could be stripped of his runes altogether for this act of disloyalty. 

A beep to signify the end of the download hit Woojin’s ears, making the Shadowhunter rip out the memory stick and quickly shut down the computer. Knowing he wouldn’t have time to make it to any other decent hiding place, Woojin settled for cramping himself into the small space underneath Yunseok’s desk, praying that the man was just returning for something he had forgotten and not to stay because there was no way Woojin would be able to escape if his father decided to sit down at his desk. 

Just as he ducked his head underneath the table, the door to the office opened and banged off of the adjacent wall, making Woojin jolt as he grasped the memory stick within his left hand. 

“Yunseok, will you please just stop and listen to me for once in your life?” Areum pleaded with an agitated tone that Woojin never had the pleasure of receiving. 

“I don’t need to listen when I know all you’re going to do is badger me about useless dealings.”

“Why do you continue to treat him like that?” 

“I treat him the way he deserves to be treated.”

“You know damn well Woojin doesn’t deserve to be treated that way!” 

At the shrill yell that increased in frequency, Woojin flinched at the mention of his name and how Areum seemed to be attempting to fight his battle for him. Doing his best to stay still and mask his breathing as much as he could, Woojin felt his blood pressure begin to skyrocket when he saw the polished brogues of his father come around the desk and stand straight in front of where he was hidden. 

“He’s trying his best, Yunseok.”

“You have your parenting techniques, Areum and I have mine. Now, mind telling me what you were doing trailing me on my way out of the Institute?” Yunseok remarked, pulling out the chair from the table and making Woojin’s heart shoot straight down to his stomach. However, he did not sit, only propping one of his shoes up to tie a lace that had come undone. 

“I wasn’t trailing you, Yunseok. If I was, you certainly wouldn’t have known about it. Why? Were you going somewhere that would make you paranoid about someone following you?” the woman challenged, harshly putting her hands on the desk above from the sounds of it. 

“If going to a restaurant is suspicious, then sure. I came back for my glasses. Is there anything else you need, Areum? Or do you just enjoy accusing me of everything like you have been for the last four decades?” 

With that last snarky remark, Yunseok finally moved away from Woojin, with Areum following behind with a huff. As he heard the door close, Woojin relaxed his rigid position and fell back against the walls of the desk. He had almost been caught, despite telling Chan that he wouldn’t be careless enough to. Unfurling his fingers, the Shadowhunter set his eyes upon the small key that held the documents he needed nestled safely in his hand. 

“Wooj, what do you think?” 

“Hmm?” 

Woojin’s eyes focused back in on the room, seeing everyone staring at him expectantly. He had been so lost in what had happened in his father’s office that he had completely zoned out of the first few minutes of the meeting. Out of the corner of his vision, he could see his father’s form in the corner of the room, glaring at him with a scrutinising gaze, no doubt jotting down all of the things that Woojin was doing incorrectly. 

“About the deaths?” Minho sighed, apparently aware that Woojin hadn’t been paying attention. “Two Werewolves, one Wild Faerie and a Vampire. That’s a drastic increase in killings. And, again, the rate of demon attacks is remaining consistent despite myself and Felix closing up some of the portals with the help of the other Warlocks.”

Four unexplained killings in a week within the country was not good. It was all within close proximity to Seoul too and Woojin was beginning to feel the toll of the pressure falling upon his shoulders. 

“Not to mention that Azazel has been spotted again near where the killings have happened. It’s like he’s murdering these Downworlders but for what? Is someone controlling him? I don’t get it. The only one who could do that would be a Warlock but why would someone want to kill other Downworlders like this?” 

“What should we do, Wooj?” Hyunjin tried, also noticing that the Shadowhunter leader didn’t seem to be mentally here, his mind floating off to somewhere else. 

_ ‘Experiments carried out at Facility 0325 provided innumerable pathways into discovering how it was that the subjects' abilities and bodies functioned and how they could be used in our favor…A portal to Edom was established and on the 24th of December, a hoard of demons was unleashed upon the city of Seoul…Their presence camouflaged our whereabouts and allowed those present to set up a detonation device that quickly eradicated any proof that Facility 0325 ever existed in the form of an explosion.The study shall hereby be postponed for ten years until suspicions will not fall upon those who had been involved.’ _

Ten years.

Oh no.

“Wooj?” 

He kept zoning out. There was too much going on inside of his head. What had happened, what was happening now, what was going to happen in the future. It was all going around in his mind, a constant cycle of possibilities and it was quickly driving him to the brink of insanity. 

“I…”

“We should think about setting up checkpoints around the city. Always have guards stationed at specific points around the city so that if attacks occur, they can be notified and go to the scene,” Chan cut in, taking the reins of leadership and giving his opinions on how to make the city safer. 

Everybody agreed, worriedly throwing a sideways glance to Woojin who seemed to be ashamed that he couldn’t seem to focus on the task at hand, undoubtedly showing his father that he may have been right when saying that Woojin wasn’t suited to such a leadership position. 

“We need to have facial recognition installed on the cameras already set up and an alert that will notify us if Azazel pops up again. If we can get to him in time, hopefully we can figure out the reason he seems to be killing them.” 

Woojin couldn’t deny that Chan was born to do something like this. He had always been a leader, proud and goal oriented. It wasn’t certain whether or not he had seen Woojin struggling and decided to take over or if he was just stating what he thought. Either way, the Shadowhunter was a little thankful for not making all of the decisions fall to him. 

As they closed the meeting and everyone began to leave, with Yunseok strutting out of the room first without so much as a backwards glance, Minho pulled Woojin to the side, placing a comforting arm around his shoulders. 

“You alright, Wooj? You seemed a little out of it.” 

A question full of such concern as Minho tightened his grip around his friend but one that Woojin wasn’t all that sure about how to answer. Seeing Chan and Hyunjin approaching him as they left Seungmin and Jeongin behind chatting, Woojin dug into his pocket, producing the small memory stick and placing it in Minho’s palm. 

“I found the file that was hidden in the system.” 

“You really went into your father’s office?” Chan whispered frantically, more than a little peeved that Woojin had actually gone through with something so precarious. 

“Yeah and this is what I found. There are some diagrams and formulas in here, I couldn’t make sense of them, I didn't really have enough time but I thought you might be able to, Min since you’re good at healing. There were other things I didn’t get to read but there was a small log that I glanced over.” 

“What did it say?” asked Hyunjin, turning to make sure that nobody else was listening into this conversation. 

“Something is starting up again. Something that happened ten years ago. It’s proof that Shadowhunters were behind the incident back then but I think they’re going to start doing it again.”   


It was just speculation but based on everything that had come to his attention so far, Woojin was beginning to make a theory up inside of his head. 

“Start doing what again?” Minho inquired desperately. 

“They were running experiments but I don’t entirely know what for.”   


Seeing Changbin and Jisung motion for him to come and join them, Woojin threw them a thumbs up before turning back around to their little investigation group.

“See if you can figure out what’s on the rest of that drive. I don’t think I’ll be able to meet you guys for a while outside of the Institute but if you find anything, you’ll know where I’ll be.” 

Walking away from them and towards the younger boys, he could hear his three friends whispering wildly about what they could possibly find on that drive. Based on what he had already found, Woojin had already come to the conclusion that it would not be anything good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooh some interesting new information coming forwards and also SOMEONE TAKE JISUNG AWAY FROM ME!!! I give you you guys full permission to slap me if I make this kid cry again. Wait, actually, not yet. He's still got a few tears left in him. ;)   
Next week...ah, yes. We have our resident red headed Shadowhunter and Vamp boyfriend. And also, the dreaded meeting of the parents for Changlix. I don't want to give you guys hope and say soft happenings are coming but...yeah.   
See you then!


	33. Acquaintance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello! How are you guys doing today?  
As I promised, fluff ensuing this week. Literally family meetings all around. It's sweet, I promise.   
Enjoy!

“You want to meet some of my clan?” 

“You seem really surprised by that,” Seungmin snorted, squeezing Hyunjin’s hand a little bit tighter as they walked down the promenade, swinging their intertwined fingers up and down.

Hyunjin had been acting a little strangely as of late. Aloof and detached, almost like he was withholding something from Seungmin. Usually, the Vampire would grab his hand the moment they would start walking together but today, Seungmin had to be the one initiating the skinship. Not that he minded, of course not but it did make Seungmin wonder what was going on in his head. 

That was why he was going to try and get his mind off of whatever was bothering him by asking to meet his clan. He had been wanting to for a while now and deduced that he could kill two birds with one stone by getting Hyunjin to arrange an introduction. 

“Not surprised, just…ok, yeah, I guess I kind of am. There have been very few people that I have dated that have been interested in my home life.” 

All that made Seungmin think was that Hyunjin probably should have picked better people to date in the past, not that he would be all that vocal about his thoughts. It didn’t matter all that much anyways, he was with Hyunjin now and he was more than invested in meeting his family. 

“Seriously? Well, then, you must not have dated very compassionate people in the past!” 

With a miniscule shrug of his shoulders, Hyunjin chuckled a little, not wanting to say that he hadn’t dated very many people where they went past the point of a few casual dates. The ones that did pass that barrier were those that Hyunjin did not wish to speak ill of. 

“Well, how about now?” Hyunjin propositioned, pulling on Seungmin’s hand to stop him since they were going in a different direction than they should have. 

“Uh, sure. If that’s ok with you. They won’t mind that you’re bringing a Shadowhunter there, will they?” 

Already leading them the way they needed to go, Hyunjin animatedly shook his head, slipping his hand around Seungmin’s waist and pulling him close to reassure him. 

“If they had a problem with you, then they wouldn’t be a friend of mine. Besides, I think they know more about you than some people at the Institute at this stage. I talk about you all the time.” 

Seungmin was already aware of this since Hyunjin had mentioned it before but he still couldn’t help the giddiness that sprouted in his chest making a rather unattractive chortle claw its way up from his throat when he heard of how proud the other was to have Seungmin as his boyfriend. Still, it didn’t seem to phase Hyunjin as the Vampire only strengthened his hold around the Shadowhunter’s waist, placing a peck upon his cheek as they continued down the path where they eventually came upon Hyunjin’s abode. 

“Wait! You own the Sapphire Crown hotel? How did I not know about this? This is like the fanciest hotel in Seoul, Hyunjin!” 

It was against Seungmin’s will when his jaw nearly hit the pavement. He knew that Hyunjin owned a hotel within the heart of the city but for some reason, he never thought to ask him which one, assuming it was some small lodging that he probably wouldn’t have noticed in all of the years he lived in the city since they would undoubtedly want to keep a low profile as Downworlders. But to own the fanciest, most notable hotel in Seoul, if not Korea? Yeah, that was something that he most definitely didn’t see coming. 

“Well, we’ve got to keep the income flowing steadily somehow. I bought it about sixty years ago and spent most of my savings on the place to fix it up to an acceptable standard. My clan pitched in a lot and as time went on, we kept updating and word spread about how nice the place was. I would hate for all of the Downworlders we take in to stay in some dinky, little hole, so why not make it as nice as we can?” 

That made complete sense but Seungmin had to admire the tenacity that Hyunjin held about keeping such a successful business running and allowing people to stay there free of charge when they were unable to pay the fees that were required. Yet another way in which Hwang Hyunjin was too darn perfect for this world. 

Leading him into the lobby, Hyunjin held the door open for Seungmin, allowing the Shadowhunter to gawk at the magnificence of the foyer alone. A glistening chandelier hung above them, crystals reflecting the sunlight from outside. The marble floor was polished to perfection, with Seungmin being able to see his own reflection in it. When he looked at the people lounging around, they seemed utterly content as they browsed through their newspapers or sipped on their extravagant coffees. There was no way in hell Seungmin would have ever been able to afford to come somewhere like this in his life and knowing that his boyfriend actually owned this place made Seungmin’s head spin a little. 

The Shadowhunter heard a small giggle behind him, turning to see Hyunjin staring at his face when his amazement was making his eyes bulge out of his head. 

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to some people.” 

The first person that Seungmin laid eyes on was a young man who looked to be maybe two or three years older than Hyunjin. Though, in Vampire terms, that didn’t really mean anything. Black wisps of hair fell upon his forehead, a blinding smile situated on his face as he helped a customer who was at the check in counter. Once he saw Hyunjin, however, he quickly asked a young girl next to him to take over so that he could go and speak with the owner. 

“You’re back early. Thought we wouldn’t see you until sometime tonight,” the man smiled, bowing his head a little towards Seungmin, who immediately returned the gesture. 

“Well, Minnie asked if he could see what kind of batshit crazy Vampires would ever agree to be a part of my clan. So, here we are!” 

“That is  _ not  _ how I phrased wanting to meet your family members, Hyunjin!” Seungmin squeaked in embarrassment as he punched Hyunjin firmly in the arm, afraid that the other Vampire would take the joke to heart. 

“Oh, don’t worry. Despite knowing Hyunjin for over a hundred years, I would believe you over him any day, Seungmin,” the young man chortled, backing up a bit when Hyunjin glared at him with disapproval. “My name is Jinyoung. It’s nice to finally meet you.” 

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Seungmin replied, taking the Vampire’s hand to shake in greeting. “How long have you been a part of Hyunjinnie’s clan?” 

A devilish grin perched itself upon Jinyoung’s lips, the Vampire throwing Hyunjin a look that screamed ‘you know I am going to give you shit for allowing him to call you Hyunjinnie.’

“Well, my previous clan was killed off by hunters and there were only a few of us left.” 

Mentally flinging himself off of a cliff, Seungmin had to wonder what it was that made him ask Vampires such invasive questions upon first meeting them. Between this and asking Hyunjin how he had died on their first date, Seungmin thought that he should just stay quiet from now on and only speak when addressed. 

“When we were trying to decide if we were going to start up a new clan or join an existing one, there was a bit of conflict between us and we went our separate ways. I never wanted to be a leader and went around trying to find someone who would allow me to stay. Luckily, I found  _ Hyunjinnie _ here."

The little threatening growl that Hyunjin let go when Jinyoung pinched both of his cheeks with cooing sounds like he was an infant that he found too adorable for his own good made Seungmin perk up a little, suppressing a cackle when he saw Hyunjin doing his utmost not to pounce on Jinyoung for the clear lack of respect for his leader. Seungmin did begin to wonder if he was the reason that his boyfriend was restraining himself but it was nice to see that Hyunjin was so relaxed and willing to just be himself with people he obviously trusted. 

“He was more than accommodating and even if he is about eighty years younger than me, the kid has some of the best leadership skills I’ve ever seen. I’ve never regretted following him.” 

“Aww, Jinyoung. You’ve never told me about how much you love me,” Hyunjin swooned, returning the favour and gathering the elder’s face in his hands before he was slapped away rather harshly. 

“I don’t believe I said that I love you in that whole monologue.” 

“Hyunjin! The pups in room 201 wanted to know when you’d be free to play with them again.”    


The conversation between the three was interrupted when an adolescent that Seungmin vaguely recognised came barrelling towards them before wrapping his arms around Jinyoung’s shoulders and laying his chin atop them. He seemed to be unaware of Seungmin’s presence until he got closer, frowning first before a grin that showed he recognised who the Shadowhunter was bloomed across his face. 

  
“Oh, hello, cutie. What are you doing here?” 

“Soobin! Can you  _ not  _ flirt with my boyfriend? His name is Seungmin, that’s what you get to address him as!” 

That’s where Seungmin remembered him from. He was the one that owned the planetarium that they had visited at the end of their second date, the one where he had set up a rather magical dinner for both him and Hyunjin to enjoy. That had been one of the best evenings of Seungmin’s life and he knew he would have to show some appreciation towards the teenager who was still swinging wildly out of a very peeved looking Jinyoung. 

“Wait. His name is Seungmin? Gosh, you call him cutie so often I was sure that was his name.”

That was the moment when everything turned upside down. In a very swift movement, Hyunjin had moved from Seungmin’s side, so quickly in fact that the Shadowhunter didn’t even register it until he saw Hyunjin wrapping his arms around the writhing boy, staring him down with a look filled with pure malice. 

“Soobin, cut it out or I will strangle you.”

“If that’s what you’re into but if it’s for the purpose of killing me, you know that won’t work,” Soobin sang with wiggling eyebrows, causing both Hyunjin and Jinyoung to sigh in defeat. 

“And this is the kind of crap we put up with here on a daily basis, Seungmin,” Jinyoung huffed but it was clear that he was more than used to dealing with the younger Vampires. 

“Seungmin! Did you know this guy writes poetry about you?” Soobin yelled as he broke free of Hyunjin’s grasp. “ _ ‘Minnie, my angel. Your breathtaking smile causes the flowers of spring to hang their heads in shame.’ _ ” 

It wasn’t the worst verse he had ever heard; some of the poets that Seungmin had studied in school had Hyunjin beat in that regard. But it was still humorous nonetheless. 

“Minnie, why don’t you speak with Jinyoung for a bit? I just have to take care of something. Soobin, come here  _ now! _ ”

It was a sight to behold, two Vampires speed walking around the hotel lobby, seeing as it would be awfully strange for the owner of the hotel to be running after a cackling employee. Soobin did continue to evade Hyunjin for a while until the elder Vampire grabbed him in a headlock and dragged him into a room that said ‘staff only.’ Seungmin was sure that Hyunjin was probably torturing the poor boy for outing such an embarrassing secret like that.

“I hope you know he’s crazy about you.” 

Seungmin had been so focused on the scuffle that he had forgotten about Jinyoung’s presence beside him but when he turned to the elder, he noticed the fond grin turning his lips upwards. 

“Really?” Seungmin asked with twiddling fingers, eyes lighting up to hear such a compliment.

He would never doubt Hyunjin’s feelings for him, he would have to be an idiot not to see that the Vampire thought the world of him but hearing it from someone he wasn’t yet close with allowed him to know that Hyunjin constantly spoke of him and how much he liked him. 

“I’ve known him for so long and honestly, I’ve never seen him this happy.” 

Seungmin was glad to hear that because it was something that did kind of bother him. Hyunjin was exceedingly sweet towards him, doing everything he possibly could to make sure that Seungmin was safe, comfortable and happy. But it did leave him with the question of whether he was doing the same for Hyunjin. The Shadowhunter would do his best to constantly shower the elder with the praise he deserved but he was sure that Hyunjin had insecurities too, ones that he would try his best to hide from Seungmin. But to hear from Jinyoung, one of Hyunjin’s clan and closest friends that Hyunjin was happy when he was with him? It made him feel just that little more at ease. 

“He’s only ever been in two serious relationships since I’ve been with him. One was a Vampire girl who Hyunjin has the biggest case of puppy love for. It was clear it meant more to him than her but in the end, that was kind of their downfall. He was in kind of deep but she ended up dumping him because he was too clingy.”

Hyunjin was clingy. Probably the clingiest person Seungmin had ever encountered in his life. It was like the Vampire couldn’t go for two minutes without hugging the life out of him. But that was one of his most endearing traits. How could someone break up with a person so wonderful because he loved to cuddle them? To kiss them? To want to hold their hand? To wrap his arms around their waist and nuzzle into their neck? It made Seungmin’s blood sizzle when he thought of the Vampire breaking up with such a gem like Hyunjin who had obviously been smitten with her but in the end, it was her loss. 

“The second was a Mundane boy. It was just before the start of the Second World War. A fleeting romance but Hyunjin fell hard and fast. But sadly, the kid was drafted and seeing as it was the same situation he went through before he died, Hyunjin didn’t hold any hope of him coming back. Which turned out to be exactly what happened.” 

That was something that Hyunjin had never mentioned and Seungmin could only guess why. Loving someone and not being able to save them from a fate that you knew would take them away from you shouldn’t have been something that Hyunjin, or anyone, should have ever had to experience. Feeling the breath leave his lungs at the statement, Seungmin inhaled deeply to calm the raging sympathy building up in his chest. As he continued to listen to Jinyoung, he saw Hyunjin exit the room, brushing his hands together with a giant smile on his face. What had happened to Soobin, Seungmin wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. 

“Hyunjin is a great leader and a very devout friend. He’s kind and sensitive but people can take advantage of that. He’s been alone for so long now, afraid of getting hurt, I think. From what he’s told us about you, I think you already do but please look after him for us. I find it reassuring that he has someone to lean on.”

“If it makes you feel more at ease, I’m crazy about him too,” Seungmin assured Jinyoung, creating a cross over his heart with his pinky finger, a sign that his declaration held nothing but the truth. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure he’s happy. You can count on me.” 

“Thank you, Seungmin,” Jinyoung whispered, softly grabbing the back of his neck with an appreciative wink. 

“Wow, don’t the two of you look serious? What were you talking about?”

“Just how you have a shrine with pictures of his face in the shape of a heart in your bedroom.” 

“What?! I do not! Minnie, don’t listen to them. This is why I don’t introduce you to my friends, Jinyoung!” Hyunjin spat with the cutest pout Seungmin had ever seen, just making the Shadowhunter laugh at the continuous teasing and tormenting Hyunjin’s clan put him through. 

“Where’s Soobin?” asked Seungmin, taking the Vampire’s hand to intertwine their fingers in an attempt to calm Hyunjin down before he had an aneurysm. 

“Oh, I killed him,” Hyunjin deadpanned before giggling a little with waving hands. “I’m kidding, I didn’t kill him. I tied him up and hung him upside down from the ceiling.”    
  


That wasn’t a lie, Seungmin could feel the honesty in Hyunjin’s voice and all he could think of was that he hoped Soobin wouldn’t suffer for too long. He wouldn’t die from it but having all the blood rush to your head wasn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world. 

“Jinyoung, leave him be for like an hour and then cut him down.”   


Poor Soobin. 

“Yes, sir.”

“Minnie, now that you’re here, you wanna go to my room and watch a movie or something?”    
  


It was an obvious tactic to get Seungmin as far away from his clan as possible lest they reveal any more secrets or make up any more lies about his infatuation with Seungmin, to the point Seungmin guessed, where he wouldn’t be able to tell one from the other. 

“Sounds good, Hyunjinnie.”   


Hyunjin bent his knees a little to give the tip of Seungmin’s nose a quick kiss before leading them towards the grand staircase in the middle of the room, the ruby carpet alone looking like it cost more than the apartment Seungmin had been living in for the past few years. The Shadowhunter turned to give Jinyoung a quick wave goodbye, hoping that he wouldn’t forget about Soobin and leave him down eventually. However, as he did so, he noticed that same mischievous grin on his lips as he opened them to shout one more thing to the owner of the hotel. 

“I want everything above board up there. Nothing over a PG rating, do you hear me?” 

“Jinyoung, shut up!” 

* * *

They had decided on a quaint little coffee shop in the centre of town. The entirety of the building was made out of glass, little glowing lanterns hanging from the ceiling and brightening up the rather dull day that was consuming the sky with threatening looking clouds. Two trees reached up to the roof, with numerous potted plants settled around the area. The crafted, wooden furniture certainly reminded Felix of home and he knew exactly why it was that Changbin had chosen such a cafe for them to have their parents meet in again. 

“Sweetpea, will you stop fidgeting? Why are you acting like you’re nervous?” 

Ceasing his incessant tapping upon the tabletop, Felix hid his hands beneath the table after his mother’s playful scolding. The feeling eating him up inside wasn’t nervousness but rather, something akin to impatience.

“I’m not nervous, Mother. I just…really like Changbin and I’m hoping that you will too. I would really like for him to court me with your permission.” 

“Felix, look at me,” Callie said sternly, swiveling her son’s chair around so that they were facing each other. “Regardless of what I think, you are to court whoever you choose. Having a parent give you permission to date someone is a tad archaic, no matter what the customs of our realm are and I would hate for you to be unhappy because of me.”

There was absolutely nobody else in the world that Felix cherished more than his mother. She always knew exactly what to say to him to make him calm and feel undoubtedly loved. Of course he would love for his mother to take to Changbin as well but she obviously trusted in her son’s feelings and judgement when she knew she didn’t even need to meet the other young man to know that her son had chosen a good potential mate. 

“Besides, if he's anything like his mother, I’m sure he has turned into a fine Shadowhunter.” 

Changbin was like his mother in more ways than one. Their bravery and willingness to help others knew no bounds. Strength unparalleled was written into both of their souls. Such kindness and virtue showed Felix that they were people to be trusted. Not to mention they both had such a silly streak in them too, one that made Felix feel so relaxed in their presence. Areum had raised Changbin well and he was entirely sure that his mother would love him too. 

“Oh, is this them?” 

Felix’s head snapped up at his mother’s words, seeing both Areum and Changbin walking through the front door and bowing to the server. They motioned that they didn’t need to be seated, that their group was already here waiting for them and began walking towards them. Wearing a neat, pink sweater, Changbin had his hair styled up from his forehead, a faint shimmer of dusty rose eyeshadow sparkling under the dim lights. His usual black combat boots were replaced by immaculate dress shoes that he seemed a little awkward walking in. He looked utterly adorable and even more so when he gave Felix such a gummy smile when he saw him.

Ever since Changbin’s confession, Felix couldn’t help but feel a little differently towards the Shadowhunter. It was like something that had been slowly building in his chest suddenly exploded and it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He had spoken to his mother about it, afraid that he was falling ill but Callie merely laughed and told him not to fret, that it was just his feelings turning to something more devoted and profound. 

Standing up out of his chair to greet them, the Faerie bowed deeply towards Areum before turning towards Changbin, the young man eagerly grabbing his hands, placing a delicate kiss to his cheek and finally placing their foreheads together. The Faerie couldn’t help but absolutely melt at the pure affection held in the action, combining such intimate gestures from both of their worlds. 

“I am absolutely furious that you have not managed to age a single day in the last twenty years.”   


The complaint held no antipathy but playful annoyance could be found in abundance. When Felix looked to his left, he could see Areum with arms crossed and foot tapping steadily as she stared his mother down, the Faerie slowly walking towards her before embracing the giggling Shadowhunter with such happiness. 

“You make it sound like you’re an old lady now, Areum. You are as stunningly beautiful as the last time I saw you,” Callie complimented, pulling back and holding onto one of the Shadowhunter’s hands. 

“Yes, well, I suppose that since you can’t lie, your observation is accurate,” huffed Areum as she threw her head to the side to flip her hair back, beginning to laugh once again before asking Callie how she had been, admiring the Faerie’s honey coloured summer dress, despite it still being winter outside. 

“Your mom is really pretty. I can see where you get it from.” 

An attempt at flattery no doubt but Felix couldn’t help but feel a tingle of pride in his chest, knowing that Changbin thought he was beautiful. The Faerie carefully played with the young man’s fingers, zealously waiting for his mother to finish reintroducing herself to her old friend. 

“So, you’re Changbin then, I assume?” Callie greeted sharply, a stark contrast with how she had just spoken to his mother, making Changbin pull his hand away from Felix and stand to attention. 

“Y-Yes, ma’am. I’m Seo Changbin. It’s very nice to meet you.” 

Felix could feel Changbin tense beside him as he held out his hand for Callie to shake, only to retract it, wondering if such an action was ok when meeting a Faerie for the first time. Giving up on trying to figure it out, the Shadowhunter simply bowed as low as he possibly could, nearly toppling over in the process. Felix would admit he had never seen Changbin act like this before. It was usually him that was flustered and unaware of how to act and the complete one eighty that Changbin’s personality seemed to have done, made the Faerie desperately try to hold in his laughter. 

“So, you wish to court my son? We’ll see about that. How do I know that I can trust you? What is it you are willing to offer him? Are you going to tell me that you will be able to treasure him always without a shadow of a doubt? Well, Shadowhunter?” 

From the corner of his eye, Felix could see Areum picking up on the same thing that he had: that his mother was just playing with Changbin, trying to put on a cold, hard exterior to make the young man panic, even though Callie had already told her son that she would not be interfering with his decisions if he had already chose that Changbin could court him. It was a little mean, of course but Felix had to admit that it was a nice change of pace to be the one who knew exactly what was going on in this scenario. Still, when he saw Changbin standing there with his mouth slightly agape as the questions were thrown at him, he felt enough pity to put a stop to the mock interrogation. 

“Mother…”

“All right, all right, I’m sor-”

“You can trust me with your son.” 

Everyone stopped what they were doing immediately when the promise that held the utmost sincerity tumbled from Changbin’s lips. When Felix looked towards the Shadowhunter, the raven haired young man seemed more confident than he had ever seen him before, like he had never been more certain about assuring Callie that he would look after Felix for her. 

“You don’t know me yet but that’s what this day is all about. Hopefully, by the end of it, I will have proved to you that you can trust me enough to see that I will treat your son well. I don’t have very much but I’m willing to give Felix everything that he deserves and I’ll work hard to do just that. I already treasure him very much and there is no doubt in my mind that I will continue to do so for as long as I am able. You have my word on that.” 

Feeling that foreign sensation again, Felix also sensed the blush crawling up his cheeks when Changbin so expertly joined their fingers together and threw the Faerie a smile full of hope and security, like he would gladly proclaim something like that for everyone to hear so that he could do nothing but keep it. 

“You have indeed raised your baby well, Areum,” Callie affirmed gently, that softness that she had held earlier returning as she gazed at Changbin with a tender warmth. 

Burying his face into Changbin’s neck as he attempted to hide his heated cheeks, Felix could see Areum’s stare fall upon her son, an immeasurable amount of pride sparkling within her eyes when she heard of how certain Changbin was in his feelings for the Faerie in his arms. 

“Changbin, I apologise for my deceit. I was only playing a part to try and jest with you,” Callie snickered, the laughter increasing when Changbin finally seemed to catch on as his face matched the colour of his sweater. “But I am truly glad to hear that you will take care of my son.” 

Changbin let his cheek fall upon Felix’s locks as the Faerie was still snuggled into his neck, smiling before humming softly to confirm that he was already too far gone the lavender haired Faerie to do anything else but want to tend to him for as long as he possibly could. 

Gesturing for all of them to sit back down again, Changbin ordered tea for four, letting the young girl know that they would take a little while to themselves before ordering any food. As she nodded politely and walked away, Changbin reached across the table to grasp one of Felix’s hands, quietly sweeping his thumb across his knuckles. 

“If it is more comfortable for you both, you can let your glamours fall.” 

Not knowing why Changbin would suggest such a thing, Felix shook his head, acutely aware of the fact that they were in the Mundane world and shouldn’t do anything that could expose what they were. It was then that Felix also became conscious about something else when he glanced around the room. 

“Wait, why are we the only ones here?” 

“I know the lady that owns this place. I asked her if it was possibly to rent the cafe out today. She owes me a favour and said she was more than happy to do so. The staff are still here though and all are Downworlders, so we can order food when you two are ready.”

Knowing that this definitely wasn’t a normal custom for humans, Felix felt his heart rate increase, the gentle thumps shifting to a rather deafening rattle in his ears. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable to constantly keep up a glamour; it was something that every Faerie child had been taught at a young age so that they wouldn’t inadvertently out their secret identity to the world but it was always a little crushing having to hide a very important part of yourself like that on a daily basis. 

“But the windows…people can still see us from outside,” Felix whispered, still a little baffled that Changbin had actually done something like that for him. 

“Before we came in, we placed a glamour around the building. If someone were to look in, it would appear empty to everyone so nobody will see either of you. We wanted to make you feel as comfortable as you could possibly be. Please, feel at ease here.” 

And that was most  _ definitely  _ not something that humans, especially Shadowhunters, would do for Faeries. As Areum smiled with her explanation, Felix saw his mother slowly begin to let her glamour fade, her magnificent golden wings sprouting from her back and pointed ears coming out on full display. 

When Felix thought about it, there were very few times when he didn’t have his glamour up around Changbin at this stage and he wondered if he preferred Felix with or without his supernatural characteristics. Still, when they all looked at him expectantly, the Faerie slowly put down his glamour, his pristine white wings with the noticeable scar folding carefully behind his back. Felix quickly noticed Changbin staring at him, his hands gingerly shooting up to cradle the sides of his head in an attempt to cover his ears in case the Shadowhunter didn’t really like them. 

“Ah, Lix, why are you trying to hide your ears? They’re adorable, just like those freckles.” 

It wasn’t clear if his freckles were still visible above the raging blush that was painting his cheeks but hearing someone other than his mother compliment the numerous specks covering his face really did something to his confidence, his hands slowly settling back on the table before Changbin grabbed on to them again. 

Felix was so distracted by the loving look in Changbin’s eyes that he never noticed the two women staring at them in their personal, affectionate moment, both overcome with delight and satisfaction that their boys treated each other with such respect and devotion. The Faerie was also oblivious to the fact that, now that his glamour dropped, his magic was much more potent, causing the flowers in the vase in at the centre of the table to bloom to full capacity, a side effect from the elation he was currently feeling when his hand was encompassed by Changbin’s. Callie breathed softly when she saw the little daisies within the vase blossom, a sure sign that Felix’s magic was overflowing because of the euphoria taking over his body. 

“Are you ready to order?” the bubbly server asked as she set down their tea, getting four nodding heads in return. 

For the next two hours, the young men sat with their mothers, never really letting go of the other’s hand as they listened to and regaled many of the stories of their lives. They once again heard of Callie and Areum’s first meeting but this time, from the Faerie’s perspective instead. Changbin spoke of his father and how he had passed fighting to protect those in need, gaining a mournful sigh from Callie who took a hold of Areum’s hand, letting her know that she was sorry for her loss. Things took a lighter turn when they spoke of how Changbin had been teaching Felix of the human world, with the Faerie butting in and boasting about how he had become so much more in tune with everything thanks to Changbin and his other friends that he now had at the Institute. To an outsider, it would have seemed that the four had known each other for years, not an ounce of awkwardness to be found as they finished their meal and got up to pay. 

Upon much insistence, Changbin told everyone that he would cover the bill, even disregarding his mother’s pleas to let her help, even though she still accompanied him to the till. Whether or not she got her way was unclear to the two Faeries who stayed by the door and waited for them to finish. 

“A wise choice indeed, sweetpea. He seems like a truly wonderful boy,” Callie gushed, placing her forehead to her son’s as she brushed her fingers across his cheek. 

“Thank you, Mother. I am so pleased that you approve. He is truly unlike anyone I have ever met before. He treats me so well and I-” 

Felix’s words were cut off as he choked on his words, not understanding why tears had abruptly begun to gather in his eyes. A sudden wave of emotion overtook his heart when he spoke of Changbin and how it was that he had behaved towards him, almost from the moment they had met. 

“He likes me for who I am. He cares not about the fact that I am not of pure descent, that I have these freckles upon my cheeks, that I am not knowledgeable about his world…that I am a Faerie. He is kind and understanding, so careful with me that it almost seems as if he is worried that I will shatter if he touches me. He shows me that I have nothing to be ashamed of, that I deserve the love that everyone else does.”

Dabbing his eyes with the back of his hands before the tears could make their way down his cheeks, Felix tried to hide his face, knowing that it was unsightly for a Faerie to show this much emotion, especially over something as trivial as love. That’s what the Queen had always told him but then again, he was becoming more and more aware that many of the Seelie Queen’s teachings were nothing but spoutings of a callous and cold hearted woman. 

The Faerie felt his face being gathered up in his mother’s hands before she placed a kiss to his forehead, her own eyes shimmering with unshed tears. 

“My darling boy, of course you deserve to be loved. I am so sorry if you have ever felt like you haven’t been worthy of that but I can see that Changbin will shower you with such affection that you will never doubt that again for another day of your life. Sweetpea, I am delighted that you have found this boy. Never let him go,” Callie whispered, taking Felix into her arms and running her fingers through his lavender locks. 

“Alright, we’re ready to g- oh, is everything alright?” 

Felix pulled away from his mother’s embrace to see Changbin staring at him with such sorrow in his eyes, the Shadowhunter quickly running to his side to brush away the stray tears that had broken free. 

“Yes, Binnie. Everything is fine,” Felix promised, kissing the other carefully on the lips for the first time, causing Changbin to jump back a little at the sudden boldness of the other before he smiled ever so brightly. 

“If you’re sure. Oh, then I suppose I need to ask your mom the question,” Changbin clarified, turning to face Callie before they left the cafe. “If you are alright with it, I would really love to fulfill that promise I made earlier of looking after your son by courting him. If that pleases you.” 

“Oh, you don’t really have to ask me that,” Callie laughed as she waved the proposition off with her hand. 

“Wait, I don’t? Felix said-” 

“Usually, that is our custom but I told Felix before you came that I trust him enough to choose the one he wishes to court. I very much appreciate you asking me but if Felix desires to be with you, then I will not stop him. Even if I very much approve of you anyways.” 

The expectant twinkle in Changbin’s eyes when he turned to look at Felix made any little inkling of doubt for his feelings for the Shadowhunter disappear. This feeling that he was experiencing, it wasn’t something that he felt for anyone else. It wasn’t an emotion associated with family, it wasn’t the same sensation he felt when speaking with Jisung or Seungmin. This was new, exciting and it was most definitely comparable to what he had read in the fairy tales that Seungmin had shown him in the library the last day he had been there. 

It was the most intense and faithful form of love that Felix ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

“I would really love it if you would court me, Binnie.”

“You sure?” 

“Definitely,” Felix responded, leaning up to place another kiss to the Shadowhunter’s lips, this one lasting a bit longer as he allowed himself to indulge in the way Changbin’s slightly chapped but full lips slowly moved against his own. 

“Ahem, if you two are  _ quite  _ done.” 

Felix jumped back from Changbin, the Shadowhunter doing the same when Areum cleared her throat with an arched eyebrow, her playful smile making the young men blush since they had completely forgotten that they were definitely not alone, Callie’s laughter only enhancing their embarrassment that they had gotten so lost in their little moment. 

Saying that he would walk his mother back to their realm, Felix bid both Areum and Changbin goodbye, receiving a rather crushing hug from Areum and another gentle kiss goodbye from his new boyfriend. That was the term that Seungmin always used when referring to Hyunjin, so Felix assumed that he could now use it when talking about Changbin. Walking away, Felix looked back over his shoulder, seeing Changbin do the same, causing both of them to fall into a fit of giggles over how much they already missed each other. 

So, this is what love felt like. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changlix family dynamic owns me at this stage.   
I hope you liked the fluff. But you know the rule about when I write fluff? What comes next? I'll say no more.   
Woomin and Minsung coming up for you next week. As well as even more insight into what those darn Shadowhunters were doing all those years ago. Getting closer and closer to some major conflict.   
I'll see you then!


	34. Compliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good morning, afternoon, evening wherever you are. You got your fluff last week and it was all lovely and soft. But! Now, it's time to return to our regularly scheduled programming. Please don't kill me. Enjoy!

Woojin couldn’t look Minho in the eye after the Warlock had all but slapped the pages of his research onto his desk, the most poignant and deplorable upset stringing his words together. 

It had all begun when Minho had called him half an hour ago, telling Woojin he needed to speak with him urgently, that he was, in fact, already on his way to the Institute. Woojin had been denying it vehemently when others had tried to bring it up but maybe he was starting to understand why they were worried about how paranoid he was becoming when he almost screamed down the phone at the Warlock. 

“No! Min, you can’t come here. Anybody could be listening. What if someone discovers what we’re doing here? We can’t be seen together anymore and I can’t leave. My father is watching my every move.”

Ok, yeah, He could definitely see where people were coming from. 

“Woojin, this isn’t a request. I’ve looked over the files you gave me on the drive. I need to show you something. Something serious,” Minho whispered, showing Woojin that he wouldn’t let anyone figure out what they were discussing. 

What shook the Shadowhunter even further was the very audible tremble in Minho’s voice, one that told him he couldn’t put off the Warlock’s visit, no matter how much he was fearful of someone in the shadows catching onto their undercover investigation. 

“If you’re that worried, I can cast a silence spell over us. We’ll be able to hear each other but nobody else will. Wooj, I  _ need  _ to talk to you about this.” 

That’s how Woojin found himself sitting behind his mahogany desk, sunken into his chair, nails digging into the faux leather while he tried to make his head catch up with what Minho had just told him about his discoveries. 

“They…they were what?” 

“Downworlders, Wooj,” Minho all but whimpered. “They were experimenting on Downworlders.” 

Granted, Woojin had been too high on adrenaline to make sense of any of the diagrams or information that he had skimmed through upon first trying to obtain the files but from what he had managed to read, he wouldn’t doubt what Minho was trying to say to him. 

_ ‘Experiments carried out at Facility 0325 provided innumerable pathways into discovering how it was that the subjects abilities and bodies functioned and how they could be used in our favour.’ _

_ ‘Numerous subjects only being useful for a short amount of time before their bodies gave out.’ _

_ ‘With regards to their contribution to enhancement, only a single case was confirmed as a success from their DNA.’  _

Woojin was going to be sick. The institution he had dedicated himself to, put his life on the line for, would have backed up to the death before all of this started; they had been carrying out tests on Downworlders for their own uses and from the sounds of it, Minho seemed to think that the Downworlders in question hadn’t been willing to participate. 

“W-what were they experimenting on them for?” Woojin shuddered, only being able to imagine what those poor souls had gone through at the hands of some Shadowhunters, people that he could have possibly known, people who could be in his Institute right now. 

“That is where I’m having a little trouble.” 

It probably wasn’t intentional but as Minho pulled a chair up to sit across from Woojin, there was a bit of animosity that seemed to be directed towards the Shadowhunter. Woojin had no part in the events of the past, he had only been fifteen years old when the incident had occurred but the thoughts of Shadowhunters doing something like that to Downworlders, to Vampires, Faeries, Werewolves and Warlocks, to  _ his  _ people, stirred up something ugly in Minho’s gut that seemed to find it’s exit from his body through his words. 

“There was a hell of a lot of information here, Wooj. That’s why it’s taken me a couple of days to actually get through it. This was the stuff that you saw.”

Fanned out across the desktop were drawings of Downworlders’ anatomies, something that Woojin didn’t notice before but now he could see the diagrams of the wings of Faeries and their structures, of canine forms of shifted wolves, of dental records of Vampires. It was enough proof to convince practically anyone that Downworlders were being taken apart to see what made them tick. 

“Here’s the log you found about Facility 0325, which is where they carried these experiments out. It doesn’t give a location but it said that given where it was, there were very few ways to totally destroy it, making me think it was somewhere with a high population, maybe even within the city. Here’s a picture of the supposed lab but it’s just inside. Nothing to indicate where it is or…was.”

For some reason, Woojin expected it to be a piece of crap underground hole, one where the tools and equipment were rusty and falling apart but what he saw in front of him was the complete opposite of that. The place looked immaculate, really, like something that you would see in some sort of futuristic movie. Everything gleamed white, the shine off of scalpels, forceps and clamps causing lens flare in the picture. It didn’t even look like the place was actually used for something, let alone experimenting on Downworlders. 

There were people there too, dressed up in scrubs with clipboards in hand but all were turned away from whoever was taking the photograph, more than likely to protect their identity. 

“And the rest…I don’t really want to show you the rest to be honest,” Minho fumed, already taking everything from the desk and shuffling the pages back together. 

He didn’t get to though, Woojin’s hand grabbing his wrist with a rather painful grip, his eyes reflecting the opposite emotions he seemed to be portraying physically. What kind of leader would Woojin be if he were to end everything here? More than ever, Woojin needed to get to the bottom of this whole grotesque and scandalous mess. It kept getting worse, something that Woojin didn’t think possible when he knew of the Shadowhunters’ involvement in the Christmas Eve incident. But now? It seemed as if that had just been a distraction to cover up a much bigger problem.

“Show me, Min.” 

God, Woojin wished he hadn’t asked that because he knew he would forever be plagued with night terrors from the sights he was forced to endure. Faerie’s wings splattered in blood, separated from the dead bodies of their owners. The chest of a Warlock split open and being held apart as two Shadowhunter’s inspected what was inside. Some poor Werewolf being skinned, Woojin desperately praying it was already dead but from the open mouth and eyes scrunched shut, Woojin swore he could almost hear the silent scream that told him he was wrong. 

Horrific, cruel, heinous, morally  _ black _ . It was not what he had expected to see and that’s why he couldn’t help it when he grabbed the trash can beside his table and coughed up his lunch. Minho remained unmoving, probably already having gone through the motions like this himself. The only sound invading the office was Woojin’s violent gagging, which slowly faded away as the Shadowhunter shakily put the bin back on the ground, making a mental note to empty it discreetly as soon as Minho left. 

“Yeah, that was pretty much how I felt too, Wooj,” Minho cringed as he took the trash can away from Woojin and placed it beside the open window to mitigate the smell. 

“Oh, god, Min. I’m sorry. I can’t believe that we would…that something like that…” 

Woojin didn’t even know what he was apologising for. He wasn’t in charge of the Institute back then; hell, he wasn’t even a qualified Shadowhunter. He had no control over what every single Shadowhunter in the world was doing. He had been a kid back then but it still somehow felt like his responsibility. It wasn’t but it felt that way. 

“Don’t apologise, Wooj,” Minho tried calmly, taking the water bottle that had been resting on Woojin’s desk and handing it to the other as he tried to calm himself. “This wasn’t you and I know that you would never do something like this.” 

Of course he would never do something like… _ this.  _ It was too disgusting to even think about. Whoever did this needed to pay, regardless of their standing, regardless of whether or not he was acquainted with them. This needed retribution. 

“As for the rest, what I assume to be the results and expectations, are all encrypted. A code that I can’t decipher.”

It would have been too easy if absolutely everything was left out in the open for them like that but what they did have was more than enough to start working on something bigger. What scared Woojin more than anything was the fact that recently, Downworlders had started going missing again, disappearing without a trace and Woojin could only speculate that they were being taken away by someone rather than vanishing into thin air. It had said in the log that they would wait ten years before trying again and that is exactly where they were at. If they stood by and did nothing, more and more Downworlders could be put at risk. 

“But I was thinking,” Minho interrupted Woojin’s thoughts, taking a seat on the other side of the desk again. “A great place to search for the key to this code would be the Silent Brother’s library.”   


The Silent Brothers were a group of male Shadowhunters, ones that resided in the Silent City, a deep underground area composed of numerous levels and chambers. Every Silent Brother chose this post, giving up their mortal lives to serve as archivists for Shadowhunters, as well as keep a watch over dead Nephilim. The men no longer held resemblance to normal humans, eyes unseeing and mouths sewn shut, only being able to converse with others through mental conversations. They kept extensive records of all transactions, operations, and history of the Nephilim  within the confines of the city, though Woojin wondered if something like this had been recorded as well. Even if it had been, there was no way Woojin could go to the Silent City without someone knowing and if any of the Silent Brothers had been involved, they would immediately alert those who did not wish for this secret to be known. 

Minho must have known this and just as Woojin opened his mouth to retort, the Warlock smiled peacefully and held up his hand to halt the defensive remark. 

“Since you can’t do that without possibly being stopped and questioned, I was thinking that  _ I  _ could go to the Spiral Labyrinth instead to see if I could decode it.” 

While there were very little places that could rival the knowledge that the Silent City held, the Spiral Labyrinth was probably as close as somewhere could come. It was the home of all magical research and knowledge, also hidden somewhere underground but its location was only known to the Warlocks of the world. Woojin wouldn’t be able to access the records of the Silent Brothers without getting noticed but someone like Minho, a High Warlock, no less, wouldn’t even draw the slightest bit of attention should he wish to browse through some books. He could simply say it was for research. 

“Would you be ok with doing that? I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Woojin fretted, gathering up the forgotten pages upon his desk. 

“Nothing will happen to me, Wooj,” Minho promised, though he must have known it may have been a promise that held nothing but an empty meaning at this stage. “Chan also said that he would look within the Praetor Lupus’ library too but even he knew that their library wouldn’t compare to ours.” 

For some reason, it shocked Woojin that he hadn’t been the first to hear of Minho’s discoveries but the four of them were in this together, each of them had an equal right to know what was going on, so why did he feel a little bit betrayed when he heard that Minho had told the Werewolf leader before him? 

“So, Chan knows about all of this too?” 

“Yes and Hyunjin as well. All of us do now,” Minho informed plainly with a shrug, obviously not picking up on Woojin’s minor annoyance. “But they don’t think any less of you than they did before I told them. They still trust you. Well…”

“As much as Chan can trust me, you mean,” snorted Woojin, knowing that it was what Minho was trying to insinuate without actually saying the words. 

Rising from his chair, feeling his back crack with all of the built up tension, Woojin carelessly bumbled towards the elder, patting his shoulder and accompanying it with a sad sort of smile. “Thanks, Min. For deciphering all this. I’m sorry I’m not being much help.”

“It’s not your fault that you can’t, Wooj. We asked Hyunjinnie and Chan for help on this and we knew that what we would discover probably wouldn’t be anything good.” 

That was the understatement of the century but Minho was right. The moment that they had discovered Shadowhunters had been there on that night, it wasn’t like they were going to come out as the innocent ones. 

“I’d better be going. I'll head out for the Spiral Labyrinth immediately and I’ll be back in a few days. Take care of yourself, Wooj. I’m serious about that. You don’t look like you’re handling this all that well. Once things have settled, we’ll need to have a talk.” 

A statement clearly not up for discussion when the Warlock’s eyes flared magenta, a warning to let Woojin know that he was already unhappy with the state he had allowed himself to fall to. It wasn’t like he could help it though. Something sinister in the back of his head was telling him to snap at Minho and ask him how he would be fairing if he was in his shoes. 

But he didn’t. Why? Because when Minho’s arms fell around his shoulders, every ounce of hatred flooding his system suddenly, the taste of spite on the tip of his tongue, just disappeared. Hugs make everything better, that was Jisung’s motto and while Woojin agreed, he quickly came to the realisation that Minho was currently encasing him in his magic, more than likely a spell to eradicate stress and exhaustion. 

“Min?”

“Sorry, sorry. Just thought you mightn’t notice. I’m going now. It’ll take a little while to get to the Labyrinth. Can’t just portal in there with all the wards placed around it. See you soon, Wooj, ok? No getting into trouble while I’m gone.”   


Minho hesitated once more, turning back to hug Woojin again, this time using nothing but his heartfelt love for his friend to try and help with the hopelessness inside of him. It worked, to an extent but it could only hold the Shadowhunter up for so long before that dreaded feeling would once again return. 

As Woojin watched his friend walk out the door, he wondered if he could agree to something like that, not knowing what kind of dangers truly surrounded him.

“No promises, Min.” 

* * *

“Hey, Min, you think I could talk to you in private for a second?” 

This was happening a lot sooner than Jisung was expecting. For the past few days, he had been building up the courage to actually have this conversation with the Warlock, not to mention deciding on what it was that he would say since he didn’t want to make a  _ complete  _ fool of himself. The dread and anxiety plaguing his mind had been causing him to lose sleep, so much so that Changbin had already commented on the black bags under his eyes this morning, making him bite back with a snarky comment about how Changbin’s face was weird looking even without lack of sleep. Admittedly not his best comeback but he was too tired to think of something witty.

Still, Jisung knew that no matter what he did, he couldn’t keep putting this interaction off if he wanted to begin healing. So, when he heard Minho was in the Institute, he figured it was now or never, time to rip the bandaid off and be done with it. Though, he knew that the bandaid was the only thing holding him together at the moment. 

“Sure, Sung. What’s up?” Minho asked sweetly as Jisung guided him into his room and locked the door behind him, lest anyone had any funny ideas about disturbing them. 

“Well,” Jisung began, trying to direct his gaze absolutely anywhere than at the person in front of him. “I’ve been thinking, a lot, over the past few days. About the two of us and our little arrangement.” 

Jisung could really use something to ground him right now. Usually, he would just cuddle Bomi, focusing on the way his fingers would glide through her fur but, for some reason or other, she was not in his room like she usually was. He had sworn she had been there when he had left to find Minho but alas, she was nowhere to be seen, much to the Shadowhunter’s disappointment. 

“Uh huh. You seem like you want to say something about it,” Minho remarked, crossing his arms over his chest and tipping back and forward on his toes. 

Jisung had so much to say on the subject, probably far too much but until recently, he was going to keep all of them to himself for as long as possible. Things had changed though and he really never thought the following words would be the ones leaving his mouth.

“Yeah, I guess. I…I think that we should stop. Seeing each other, that is.”

The idea seemed to shock Minho enough for the Warlock to stop his movements, eyes widening a little as he stared at the Shadowhunter continually rubbing his hands together in clear uneasiness. 

“Oh? You do?” 

“I just think that it’s getting a bit too hard,” Jisung tried.

It was something that Jisung wanted to tell Minho so badly, why it was that he found it too difficult to continue on their destructive path, that seeing him with other people, knowing he would never be anything more to him, was too much for him to bear. That was something he had decided over the many sleepless nights, that he wouldn’t dare speak about his feelings for the Warlock in case it would upset their friendship, something that had been a constant fear during this whole escapade. 

“Sneaking around and lying to people, I don’t want to do it anymore, so I think it’s best if we just end it here.” 

There was a brief silence, one that Jisung was being crushed under, the pain pooling in his stomach before spreading throughout his body. While he figured that this was where it would end, the idiotic part of himself, the hopeless romantic, was calculating the possibility of Minho begging him to stay with him, the prospect of the Warlock wrapping his arms around him and laying the most passionate of kisses on his lips, the idea of Minho professing his undying love and telling Jisung that he would no longer see anyone else because he wanted to be with him and only him.

“Ah…well , that’s good I guess.” 

That…was most definitely not the response that Jisung had been expecting to hear in return. While it was a long shot for Minho to say he wanted to be with Jisung, it surprised the Shadowhunter even more for the Warlock to be happy with his decision to end things. 

“Good?” 

“Yeah. I mean, I get where you’re coming from. It is a bit tiring having to hide it from everyone. Doesn’t really make sense, does it? Plus, I just told Wooj that I’ll be going to the Spiral Labyrinth for some research for a couple of days, so it’s…great timing since I won’t be around. I understand, Sung. We’ll consider our relationship terminated from here on out.”

Jisung was positively sure that he actually heard the crack echo in his chest, feeling something split in two but it’s not like he could complain about any of this. This was Jisung’s resolve, one that he had come to a definite conclusion over and the fact that Minho had so easily accepted his verdict just proved to him what he had been worried about all along, that it was entirely one sided. 

After Jisung hesitantly nodded his head in agreement, the way that Minho had phrased the conclusion made the Shadowhunter’s senses snap back to reality. Their relationship was terminated. In his head, Jisung knew that Minho was referring to their secret relations but the panic that rose up from those words made him immediately step towards the Warlock, biting his chapped bottom lip, the skin having long been scrapped off by his teeth over the last few days, the pain of it only causing him to do it more. 

“But…we can still be friends, right?” Jisung whispered, absolutely detesting how vulnerable his voice sounded in front of Minho like that. 

“Han Jisung, do you really think you can get rid of me that easily?” Minho sighed with a heavenly smile, taking small strides towards the younger before stopping in front of him and catching his hands, Jisung praying that he couldn’t feel the slight tremble. “My best friend in the entire world wants to know if we can still be friends because we aren’t sneaking around and making out anymore?” 

The answer was clear enough when Minho gathered the smaller young man up in his arms, wildly swinging both of them from side to side, making a small giggle slip past Jisung’s lips, despite the mood of the situation. It was honestly the most caring gesture they had shared in such a long time and Jisung was using that thought to convince himself that he had indeed made the right decision in ending it all. 

When the Shadowhunter went to pull away from the embrace, he fell back towards Minho’s chest when it seemed like the elder didn’t want to let go just yet, making Jisung ponder on whether or not Minho was enjoying the closeness just as much as he was. It only lasted for a couple of seconds more before they were separated, Jisung feeling like his heart was being ripped away with Minho’s arms. 

“We're in this friendship shit together for life, Sung. At least, I am,” Minho added, the implication being that he was unsure whether or not Jisung felt the same. 

“Me too, Min. I’m even harder to get rid of than you are.” 

“Don’t I know it.” 

A small laugh was shared between the two before Minho said he had work to do back at his apartment but without the specification of what kind, Jisung’s head began to run wild with unwanted thoughts; Nari immediately springing to mind. 

But that wasn’t his problem anymore. He in no way was allowed to have any opinion on Minho’s extracurricular activities now. Not that he really should have when they were seeing each other either. With that thought, he finally let Minho go, in every sense of the word. They were no more than friends now but that was sometimes worth more than any other kind of relationship in the world. He just wished his heart would catch up with his head on the matter when he felt an unbearable pressure build up in his temples, undoubtedly from willing the tears not to gather in his eyes. 

Walking into the shadowy hallway, Jisung wrapped his arms around himself, his bones lacking any semblance of warmth before he walked straight into someone, his thoughts being far too loud to allow him to function like a normal human being. 

“Hey, Sung. Where have you been?” Changbin questioned, the cheery tone making Jisung feel all the worse. 

“Just doing some stuff.” 

That was a lame ass excuse but Jisung was more concerned that the person he probably needed most in the world was standing in front of him right now. Honestly, he was surprised that Changbin even realised that he had been missing since it was more than rare to see his  _ Parabatai  _ actually around the Institute anymore. He was far too busy being with his new beau but Felix didn’t seem to be here at the moment, meaning that Jisung might actually be allowed to take some of Changbin’s time for himself. 

“Hey, Bin, you’re not busy right now, are you?” Jisung prayed hopefully, knowing that Changbin’s hugs wouldn’t heal his broken heart but that they would at least take the sting out of it. “I was wondering if we could-”

“Binnie! I finally discovered what bus we need to take. The internet can be confusing sometimes. We should go there now. Oh, hi, Jisung.” 

Hope was not something that Jisung should hold onto anymore; fate just seemed to be working against him now and he hated whatever deity was out there for making every turn he was taking in life to be the complete wrong one. 

“Hello, Felix,” Jisung replied and he smiled. God, he  _ tried  _ to smile but he just couldn’t do it anymore. “What are you two up to?” 

“Oh, you know the botanical gardens in Bucheon? We were thinking of taking the bus there and having an evening picnic,” Changbin grinned, hand laying atop Felix’s, the Faerie securely wrapped around the other’s arm. “Did you need something, Sung? What were you going to ask me?” 

“N-nothing, Bin. You two have fun, ok?” 

Jisung was having problems coping, yes but he wasn’t going to drive a wedge between the two new lovers because of it. Of course they should be spending time together; that’s what people in a relationship  _ did.  _ With a quick wave of his hand, knowing that he could at least cuddle Bomi until he retired early, Jisung shot Changbin a barely teasing grin before slipping past them and heading towards his room. 

“Binnie, you know what? I’m actually going to head home.” 

At the sound of Felix’s proposal, Jisung stopped in his tracks to look back at the Faerie who truly did resemble an angel under the sparkle of the fluorescent lights, his lavender hair and dangling earrings absolutely gleaming. 

“What? You don’t want to go to the gardens with me?” Changbin pouted and the little quiver in his voice told Jisung that he was hurt that the plans he had set up with the Faerie were suddenly being thrown out the window. 

“I do, Binnie but…” Felix trailed off, moving his gaze away from his boyfriend towards Jisung who stood like a deer in the headlights when two sets of eyes were upon him, one filled with confusion and one with a weird understanding. “Your friend needs you more than I do at the moment.” 

Jisung startled at that, wondering why it was that Felix was able to pick up on his need for attention and consolation. With frantically waving hands, Jisung gathered the attention of the other two young men, not wanting them to cancel their plans because of him. 

“No, no, Felix, you don’t have to go home. I’m fine,” Jisung placated, doing his best to keep his voice steady and show that he didn’t need someone to comfort him. An appeasing lie and one that did nothing to convince the Faerie who quickly smiled at Changbin before kissing him carefully on the lips. 

“I am aware that I do not have to but I want to,” the Faerie sighed, bowing towards Jisung with a strangely knowing pout. “I hope you feel better, Sungie. Binnie is good at calming others. I’ll call you before I go back to my realm. Take care of him, Binnie.” 

Still seemingly lost in the exchange between the two, Changbin merely nodded, clearly not getting what was happening in front of him, giving Felix another brisk peck, watching the Faerie’s back as he skipped back down the hallway before turning back to Jisung.

“Hey, Sung. What was that about? Why did Lix think that you need me? You ok?” 

Jisung was  _ not  _ ok. He was far from ok. He was on the opposite end of the scale when it came to being ok. He was exhausted, heartbroken, full of a feeling that told him that he just wasn’t good enough to experience the happiness of life like everyone else was. It was absolutely draining and when he finally had his  _ Parabatai  _ in front of him after missing him for so many days, he just wanted to be held and told that he was going to be alright. 

“I’m so tired, Bin,” Jisung whimpered, bringing his fists up to his eyes and scrubbing harshly when he felt the tears of regret and misery began to mix together and fall over, obviously startling Changbin who immediately took his brother’s face in his hands and shushed him with such benevolence. Even after it had ended with Minho, Jisung still didn’t feel comfortable letting Changbin or Woojin know what had been happening between the two of them, not wanting his brothers to be disappointed in him like he knew they would be and that’s the way it was going to stay if he could help it. 

“Hey, hey, Sungie. Why the tears? My poor squirrel,” Changbin huffed, wrapping his arms around Jisung’s still snivelling form. “Have things been getting too much for you again lately? I told you to come to me when-”

“You’re not around anymore, Binnie,” Jisung sniffled, freezing in the elder’s arms when the words left his mouth. The last thing he wanted was for Changbin to feel guilty for spending time with Felix, not when he knew how happy the Faerie made him but he was sure that’s what he inadvertently did with his complaint. 

“And that’s on me. I’m sorry, Sung. I’ve probably made you feel really ignored lately, huh?” 

Pulling away, Changbin brushed Jisung’s unkempt mousy hair away from his swollen eyes, the tears doing nothing to help the ghastly black bags making him look gaunt and terribly glum, Changbin hating how he had made a joke about them earlier. 

“I’ve just missed spending time with you. With Wooj too. I just feel like I’m losing you guys,” admitted Jisung, not at all caring about how he sounded at this stage; he was already down the rabbit hole now. Might as well spill the entirety of his worries on the floor. 

“Oh, Sung. You’ll never lose us. Now I feel like an ass. Hey, you’re not doing anything for the rest of the evening, right?” It had been a question but from Jisung’s earlier inquiry about Changbin not doing anything at the moment, the younger got the feeling that he was already aware of the answer. “You wanna catch up on some sleep?” 

It wasn’t the biggest problem he was dealing with but fixing it was something that would probably bring Jisung back to a workable state that would allow him to solve  _ most _ of his other problems. 

“I think you’re in need of some Binnie cuddles,” Changbin proclaimed proudly, though Jisung scoffed and let him know that wasn’t as cute as he thought it sounded. “We can get someone to bring us food later. How about we send out for pizza? We should get into our pajamas now and just chill with Bomi for the rest of the evening. Maybe watch some movies? What do you think about that?

“I think that sounds really, really good, Bin but I’m sorry I ruined your date with Felix.”

“Nonsense. None of that. Felix knows how important you are to me and he, for some reason or other, knew that you weren't feeling well. He couldn’t pick up that I was crazy about him but your feelings are apparently no problem to decipher!” 

Laughing at Changbin’s obvious fake annoyance, Jisung wrapped his arms around the elder’s waist as he was being led back towards his room. 

It was strange that Felix had been able to deduce that there was something wrong in his usual cheerful mentality but it didn’t matter all that much now. He finally had his  _ Parabatai  _ back in his arms, a sensation that couldn’t replace the one he had left a few moments ago but it gave off an entirely different feeling. One that made him feel like nothing harmful would ever touch him. One that he wouldn’t trade for the world. 

“Thanks, Bin. Love you.”

“Love you too, Sungie.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hurt me. It had to be done, ok? But what do you guys think of Min's reaction to Sungie's decision?   
Anywho, now that the investigation team is even more clued in about what had been happening ten years ago, I wonder what will happen. Nothing good but you already know that.   
Next week. Oh, we have lots and lots of things happening next week. And finally descending into the main climax of things. There's some Woolix which I adored writing, a little Seungjin with a splash of Seungin, getting into some serious trouble and finally, a big scene for Felix. It's all coming together. See you then!


	35. Commencement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! There were quite a few of you last week that said that angst wasn't that bad in the last chapter after I had warned you about it. My lovelies, I never said that the last chapter was the height of the angst. In fact, it is just beginning. I'm excited for the next few chapters, things are really going to turn upside down. I do hope you guys will enjoy it too.

“Woojin, come here.”

With the sound of his father’s voice stopping him in the hallway on his way to the dining hall, Woojin could feel the hairs on his arms shoot up. Things had only gotten worse since Yunseok had decided to stay at the Institute until this whole demon attack problem was solved. The constant mockery about how he was failing in every aspect of his life along with the various bruises he would have to hide from everyone was doing wonders for Woojin’s mental state. Pretending like it didn’t bother him was only getting him so far and when he would come face to face with his father, such as times like this, he could immediately feel his heart rate skyrocket out of fear. Pain, whether it be mental or physical, was coming his way. 

“Yes, Father?” Woojin croaked in a listless voice. 

“Your performance at the last meeting was nothing short of atrocious. Is that how you’re presenting yourself to the rest of the Shadow world? Like a weakling who could be easily overtaken should he be challenged?” 

Raising his head, Woojin couldn’t believe his father was still thinking like this. At first, Woojin questioned what difference it would make if he _was _a poor leader. The worst that could happen would be that he was asked to step down by the Clave if they thought he wasn’t performing adequately and someone better would take his place but he knew that wouldn’t happen since his father would do anything to prevent it. Nobody would challenge him in the Institute for his position but as he went on to think upon the idea further, Woojin knew that Yunseok wasn’t speaking about being challenged by another Shadowhunter. 

“Challenged? In a hostile sense? Who would challenge me? Despite what you may believe, Downworlders are not trying to overthrow me, Father."

“If you think that you can fully trust any Downworlder when we are the ones who oversee the laws they live under, then you are even more of a fool than I thought,” Yunseok insulted, shaking his head in disapproval. 

How could his father say keep saying things like that? Of course, Woojin wasn’t saying that he had undeniable faith in every Downworlder, just like he couldn’t say that about Shadowhunters or Mundanes but there were those that Woojin would lay his life down for, knowing that they would do the exact same for him in any given situation. Hyunjin, Jeongin, Felix, Minho…Chan. He trusted them without any doubts in his mind but from the sounds of it, there wasn’t a Downworlder that Yunseok would put his trust in, even a little bit. 

“Of course there are Downworlders that I trust. My friends have gained it, they have earned it and they trust me. They are capable of that. They are not an inferior species to us,” Woojin scoffed but quickly remembered who he was speaking to and reined in his tone. 

“You need to become more ruthless if you’re going to show that you are not a man to be trifled with. They won’t respect you if they think they have any room to object to your commands.” 

“That wouldn’t be respect, Father. That’s building a reputation on supremacy and fear and I certainly don’t want them to fear me,” stressed Woojin and it was obvious that his response wasn’t the one his father wanted to hear. 

“You are weak and that’s all you’ll ever be.”

Maybe Yunseok was right, maybe he was weak and maybe that was all he would ever be but he would do his very best to be a better man than his father ever was. It hadn’t hit him in the moment but Woojin had come to realise that since he had been able to access those hidden files on his father’s computer, it meant that Yunseok had either somehow been involved or at least known about what had transpired ten years ago. There was no way he could ever look at his father the same way again, knowing that he had been aware of such an atrocity and done nothing about it but he couldn’t allow him to know about his knowledge on the subject, not when they were so close to figuring all of this out. 

“I’d rather be weak than a leader who doesn’t have a heart. Like you seem to be,” Woojin murmured as Yunseok had begun walking away but stopped in his tracks with fury evident on his face. 

“What did you just say? How _ dare _you speak to me like that!” Yunseok roared as he drew back his fist, with the intention of hitting Woojin square in the jaw. 

It made Woojin flinch, he wouldn’t deny that but he thought that he should be used to it at this stage. Keeping his hands fisted at his sides, knowing it would be easier to take the first direct hit instead of Yunseok coming back for a better second shot, Woojin screwed his eyes shut and awaited the incoming pain. 

But, strangely, it never came and when he dared to open his eyes to see why Yunseok had halted his assault, what met his eyes was something quite unexpected. 

Swirls of green light encased his father’s hand, his fingers barely twitching as it became apparent that he could no longer move them. The same glow was weighing both of his feet down and from the look on Yunseok’s face, he couldn’t quite understand what was happening to him until his furious stare shot straight to Woojin, making his son take a step back before it moved to look behind him, making Woojin turn to look too. 

“Felix?” 

The Faerie stood with eyes ablaze, emerald overtaking his irises as his emotions flared. The same magic that was holding Yunseok’s body in place was currently dripping from Felix’s fingertips as he pointed them straight at the elder Shadowhunter. 

Thinking back, Woojin had never seen the Faerie like this. Truth be told, he looked rather terrifying as he slowly strode towards Woojin and took the Shadowhunter’s hand in his, never letting up on his magic, forcing Yunseok to gape at the young man in his frozen stance with his arm still raised. 

“Excuse me, sir but what exactly were you about to do to Woojin?” Felix demanded, his tone holding none of the sweetness that it usually did when he addressed practically everyone. 

“I’ve seen him here before. With Seungmin. A Fae, huh? Do you just let any Downworlder stroll around the Institute as they please now, Woojin? This is a sanctuary for Shadowhunters, not _ them. _”

Before Woojin could even offer up an explanation, Felix was standing in front of him protectively, a small squeeze given to the Shadowhunter’s hand to let him know that he didn’t have to interact in this conversation. 

“_ I _ am the one who asked you a question, not your son. It is terribly disrespectful to ignore someone like that. It is a shame that someone like you holds a place in the Clave, having a man like you representing Shadowhunters. You are indeed a prig.” 

“I _ beg _your pardon?” Yunseok gasped, not only surprised that he had been insulted straight to his face but that it was a Downworlder doing it, one who was holding him, a high ranking member of the Clave, in place with his magic.

“No, you may not have my pardon, no matter how much you beg. I tire of talking to someone so crass and ignorant. I shall be leaving now and I am taking Woojin with me. You may stay there until we have departed and only then will my magic wear off. Good day, sir,” Felix humphed, leading Woojin away from his downright gobsmacked father, the younger Shadowhunter averting his gaze when a small smile popped onto his lips after such an unexpected interaction. 

Once he had managed to put a decent distance between them and Yunseok, Felix turned to face Woojin, reigning in his magic and reverting back to his charming and gentle self. 

“Are you alright, Woojin?”

“I’m fine, Felix. Thank you but you really didn’t need to do that,” Woojin explained and he assumed that the whole thing would come back to bite him in the ass later on but he would gladly endure it since he got to see his authoritative father being dominated by an adorable little Faerie such as Felix. Not that he ever doubted the freckled young man’s strength but he knew that Yunseok had and that misjudgement had just hit him straight in the face. 

“I realise that I did not but I shall not stand by while one of my friends endures such pain, especially at the hands of someone they should be able to trust. My heart will not allow it.” 

Felix had a bigger heart than anyone Woojin had ever met before. That rumour that circulated around about Faeries being manipulative and cruel sometimes seemed to stand true, the Seelie Queen was enough proof of that but Felix was the complete and utter opposite of her, as was his mother, according to Changbin. There was no way Woojin could express how thankful he was that Felix had come into their lives and made them see that not everyone of the same world was to be put into one bracket. 

“I came to see Binnie again but he is currently busy with training Seungmin. He said he would be finished in an hour or so and I am free until then. I wish to go somewhere, would you care to join me?”

“Sure, Felix. Where are we going?” Woojin replied brightly, not having anything in particular to do and knowing that spending time with the Faerie would definitely make Changbin happy.

“There is an ice cream shop two blocks down. I have been wanting to visit it for some time now and Binnie says that ice cream is a great way to clear up a sour mood.” 

Woojin wasn’t entirely sure who Felix had been referring to when mentioning the mood that needed to be cheered up. Maybe it was Felix himself after his run in with Yunseok but Woojin had the greatest feeling that this was the Faerie’s way of trying to get his friend’s mind off his hateful father. Still, the way that Felix had put his father in his place certainly made his mood do a complete one eighty. 

“Apparently, if you can believe it, there is something called bubblegum ice cream. How is that possible? I have only recently come to learn of bubblegum but it is something that one chews, yet ice cream is not. How do they make such a thing?”

“Pretty sure it’s just the same flavour, Felix,” Woojin laughed, falling for the young man’s charming innocence. 

“Ah, I see. Do you have a favourite type of ice cream? I shall purchase it for you today.”

“Oh, I’m not sure. I guess I quite like green tea ice cream,” Woojin remarked, not quite being able to remember the last time he had gone for ice cream with friends but being sure that it must have been with Jisung and Changbin.

Stopping at the exit of the Institute, Felix spun around with utter shock and awe painted across his face. 

“Tea? In ice cream? That is most interesting. I must admit that your world becomes stranger and stranger to me with each passing day.” 

* * *

“Chan, have we not discussed this already? You don’t have to escort me everywhere,” Jeongin whined, trying to close the front door behind him before Chan’s foot impeded his progress. 

“I’m not escorting you, Innie. I have business at the Institute too.”

A likely story but one that Jeongin wasn’t buying with how frantic the elder was about following him. That separation anxiety obviously hadn’t subsided and with the death toll of Downworlders rising at a terrifyingly fast pace, Chan didn’t want any of his pack to leave the house on their own, even those that were older and more experienced in fighting that he was. That’s why he had paired everyone up. If someone in a duo wanted to leave the house, the other was required to go with them, regardless of whether or not they wanted to. 

And for some reason, Jeongin had _magically _managed to get himself paired up with Chan. How, oh, _how_ did that happen? 

“Uh huh, uh huh and who, pray tell, do you have to meet at the Institute?” Jeongin challenged, giving up on trying to shut the door in Chan’s face. 

He could see the alpha quickly trying to come up with an excuse in his head, one that would make sense and correlate with his story. Not that it mattered since Jeongin could already pick up on his scent that told him that was exactly what he was doing. 

“I…have to go and…talk to Woojin about something,” Chan muttered, doing a spectacularly terrible job of trying to convince both himself and Jeongin. Out of all the people he could have picked for his fake meeting, the fact that he picked Woojin in his haste really gave his dishonest self away. 

“Chan, you do realise that I’m a Werewolf too, right? I can detect when you’re lying. Not that I can’t already deduce that by your face. Look, I know it’s dangerous out there but I’ll be careful. I’m just going to hang out with Seungmin for a while, that’s all.” 

Jeongin prided himself in being able to convince Chan to do whatever he wanted when he broke out his patented puppy eyes. That’s how he always got the extra scoop of ice cream with dessert or the extra ten minutes on the gaming console compared to others. And, yes, Jeongin realised that when he said those sort of things to himself that it made him sound like a kid but when he thought about it, Chan just really reminded him of how Seojun used to treat him before his life had been changed forever.

Those eyes always worked and that’s how Jeongin found himself standing at the Institute’s doors. 

With Chan right beside him. 

“You know, there’s a difference between being protective and being overbearing, Chan.” 

“Yeah, not to wolves, there isn’t,” Chan chuckled, trying to produce yet another excuse for his behaviour. 

Despite what Chan thought, Jeongin was more than capable of looking after himself. On more than one occasion, Jeongin had quickly pointed out that he had managed to save Yedam from a Rahab demon all by himself, showing that he possessed a decent amount of both offensive and defensive knowledge of fighting techniques. However, Chan made the point that he was either just riding on plain, dumb luck or that his subconscious somehow knew it was Yedam he was trying to protect, even if Jeongin himself wasn’t aware and brought out some inner strength. Other than that, Jeongin didn’t really have all that many examples to use when pleading his case to be let out by himself. 

Not that it mattered. Chan wouldn’t be tagging along to his ‘play date’, as the alpha had called it. He just wanted to make sure that Jeongin got to and left the Institute safely, which he was glad of. Seungmin had texted him the previous night and asked if he wanted to hang out together. It had been a while since they had met up when they excluded the meetings and Jeongin was thrilled that Seungmin had thought of him since he was going a little stir crazy in the house. 

“Ok, you go and do your thing with Seungmin. I’m just going to…”

“Speak with Woojin? Isn’t that what you came here for?” Jeongin smirked slyly, knowing that Chan had no intention in going to find the elder Shadowhunter. 

“Just go,” Chan growled, slapping Jeongin on the backside as the pup ran off giggling. 

Seungmin let Jeongin know he’d be in his bedroom since the Werewolf had messaged him to tell him he’d be arriving soon, so Jeongin decided to head straight there. For some reason, his manners escaped him in his excitement to see Seungmin and instead of knocking upon his friend’s door, he quite forcefully barged in. 

Yeah, that was his mistake.

“Wow, they’re really pretty, Minnie,” Hyunjin assured, running his fingers along Seungmin’s rib cage where he had received the _ Iratze _rune before he moved down to where the Power ruin lay on Seungmin’s lower stomach.

The Vampire seemed to be enthralled in examining them, thumbing across the younger’s hipbone while Seungmin let out a flustered giggle. They were apparently lost in a moment, not acknowledging Jeongin’s presence until the Werewolf thickly cleared his throat, making Seungmin drop his shirt and spin around with a startled expression, though Jeongin’s existence didn’t seem to make any sort of difference to Hyunjin when the eldest simply raised an eyebrow as if to ask Jeongin what he was doing. 

“Oh, sorry, I should have knocked. I didn’t know that _ he _would be here,” Jeongin grumbled, jerking his head towards the Vampire. 

He hadn’t _ entirely _warmed up to the elder just yet, especially since he would not stop referring to him as ‘pup.’ More than anything, it seemed to be a form of insult, like Jeongin was a kid compared to them and while he was certainly younger than Hyunjin since he was freaking immortal, he was only a year younger than Seungmin, so it didn’t seem all that fair that he was being treated in such a way by the Vampire. They just weren’t clicking right now but Jeongin had been informed of another possible reason for that. 

The wolf felt this weird, primal annoyance towards Hyunjin too, even before they had been properly introduced and when he went to talk to Chan about it, the other had told him that there had been a deep rooted and long running feud between Vampires and Werewolves, something that was interwoven into their DNA at this stage. He could fight it, of course, once he got to know Hyunjin a bit better, just as Chan had but at the moment, Jeongin wasn’t all that interested in that. There was also the added fact that it was screwing with Jeongin’s head when he couldn’t smell any pheromones from Hyunjin, just a waft of something unpleasant. 

“That’s ok, Innie,” Seungmin sighed bashfully, swatting Hyunjin’s hands away when they found their way to his waist to hold him back. 

“You know, pup, he is _ my _boyfriend. I think I have more than enough reason to be here with him.” 

“_ Stop _calling me that!” fumed Jeongin, eyes glowing red as he strode towards Hyunjin, the Vampire standing a little taller before Seungmin jumped between the two, hands upon both of their chests. 

“All right, ok, calm down. What is with you two? Why are you already fighting? I want to hang out with the two of you today. Do you think you can get along for a little while? For me?” 

That was unfair because Seungmin obviously knew that both of them would do anything the Shadowhunter asked of them. With a small grunt, Jeongin pulled on Seungmin’s arm, nuzzling into the back of his shoulder to scent him, wanting to do it into his neck to signify their bond but the wolf knew full well that if he did that in front of the redhead’s boyfriend, there would surely be a bloody murder. 

“I’ll behave if he will,” Hyunjin sneered, scrunching up his nose at the way Jeongin placed his hands where his own had previously been upon Seungmin’s stomach. 

Now, Hyunjin wasn’t jealous of Jeongin in the sense of a romantic rival. He knew that the wolf had no interest in his boyfriend like that but it still stirred up something unwanted when he saw the younger scenting Seungmin like that right in front of him. The custom wasn’t unusual for wolves who adopted someone as a friend; it was to signify that they were close, similar to how Faerie’s placed their foreheads together or how humans would hug one another but _ still _…Hyunjin didn’t like it. 

“You’ll both behave if you want to spend time with me, understood?” 

Clearly Seungmin was getting agitated and Jeongin really didn’t like the pheromones he was beginning to produce, never mind the fact that he would hate to be the reason that Seungmin was upset. So, with a taut smile, Jeongin came out from behind the Shadowhunter, sweeping his feet off of the purple carpet beneath him before holding a hand towards the Vampire. 

“Let’s get along, Hyunjinnie.”

When he saw the Vampire’s nose twitch a bit at the use of the nickname usually used by his friends, Jeongin was glad to know that he actually had the ability to get under his skin if he chose to do so. Though, the intense grip that Hyunjin returned with fervency caused Jeongin to wince a little, hiding it well behind his unbreakable smile. 

“Of course. Anything for _ my _Minnie, pup,” the Vampire chirped happily. 

“Way to be passive aggressive, guys,” monotoned Seungmin, grabbing his jacket from his desk chair and striding out the door. 

Strolling down the sidewalk was a bit of a challenge for Seungmin when he had a clingy Werewolf hanging out of one arm while a proprietorial Vampire clamped onto his other. He couldn’t understand why it was that they couldn’t just suck it up and be friendly with one another. They were both wonderful people and Seungmin knew that they would be the best of friends if they would only give up on this idea that they couldn’t share him. 

“Ok, you two grab a seat outside. I will order the coffee. No! Stay there.”

The bark of an order came when both Hyunjin and Jeongin lurched forwards, not wanting to leave Seungmin on his own, especially since that meant that they would have to stay together by themselves. With a wagging finger, Seungmin sent them a glare once more before opening the front door of the coffee shop and lining up with the others currently waiting for their order. 

With little room for debate, Jeongin merely deflated and walked over to a wooden table with benches on either side, a multicoloured umbrella shading them from the overhanging sun. There wasn’t really a need for it in Jeongin’s opinion but he knew that Vampires were more comfortable when they were sheltered from direct sunlight. Not that he should be considerate towards the elder with how he was being ignored by Hyunjin as he sat down on the opposite side of the table to him with chin in hand but he knew all about having an itch under your skin that you couldn’t scratch. He wasn’t only Seungmin’s boyfriend but Chan’s friend too and Jeongin knew that his alpha would be disappointed in him if he was to do something out of spite, especially someone he was so affectionate towards. 

“Seungmin is right, you know?” Jeongin mumbled, trying to gather the Vampire’s attention, succeeding but only after he heard a perturbed sigh. 

“He usually is but in what way are you referring?” 

“That we should get along. Listen, I get that what we are means that there’s a wedge built between us, that Vampires and Werewolves shouldn’t get along but we should try. You and Chan are great friends, so I don’t see why we can’t be. I’ll do more to try and control my wolf; he’s just a bit possessive of friends. I’m willing to try if you are. For Seungmin.” 

That did the trick as Hyunjin sighed once again but this time, it was of resignation, knowing that he couldn’t continue to act this way, not if he wanted to make Seungmin happy and right now, that was pretty much his main goal in life. 

“For Minnie, of course I am. We should try to get to know each other a little, I guess. So...Minnie tells me that you grew up in Busan. You still have family there? Are they Werewolves too?” Hyunjin mused, thinking they were perhaps the wrong questions when Jeongin bowed his head. 

“No. No family left there. Not anymore. There were no Downworlders in my family until someone scratched my brother and…I was, um, turned when he lost control and he killed our parents. Would have killed me too if Chan hadn’t stopped him. So, yeah…” 

The irked look upon Hyunjin’s face dropped immediately, his stomach twisting uncomfortably when he heard of Jeongin’s solemn past. He never would have asked if he had in any way known that was how the younger came to be a wolf. If anyone knew the pain of speaking of such a broken past, it was Hyunjin.

“Oh, pu- Jeongin, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…I didn’t know…”

“It’s fine, Hyunjin. You couldn’t have. Only my pack and Seungmin know at the moment and I’m sure that neither would tell anyone without my permission,” Jeongin confessed with a snort. 

It was at this moment that Seungmin decided to appear, a mocha and iced americano in hand. There had been a small debate on why Hyunjin hadn’t brought any blood with him to drink but the Vampire assured his boyfriend that it was fine. He could go for a little while without consuming it, even though he did mention he hadn’t fed since yesterday morning since he had been busy with research. Not that he told Seungmin what it was for. The Vampire just wanted to spend some time with the younger while he wasn’t being distracted with other problems. 

There was still a strange sort of tension hanging in the air once Seungmin joined them but it had shifted from utter annoyance to an uncomfortable silence. Another problem was brought up when the Shadowhunter set Jeongin’s drink down in front of him. There were two seats available to him, one on either side of the table and with how today had already gone, Seungmin wasn’t entirely sure where he should seat himself. 

Seeing the inner turmoil within his boyfriend, Hyunjin chuckled before swinging his legs up onto the seat beside him, preventing the redhead from sitting there. That got him a sweet smile in return when Seungmin seemed to notice what it was he was trying to get at as he eventually lowered himself beside Jeongin, the Werewolf taking his coffee and snuggling into Seungmin’s side. 

It was then that Hyunjin realised that Jeongin probably wasn’t even intentionally seeking skinship. After being turned so recently, Jeongin’s wolf required some closeness, especially those who he had adopted as his family since he no longer had the one from his past. Seungmin was a part of that new family and after hearing about what happened to his parents and brother, Hyunjin wouldn’t deny him some time with Seungmin. 

“So, Jeongin, are you seeing anyone at the moment? Anyone catching your eye?” Hyunjin tried, steering the conversation in a different direction. It was a question that interested him, moreso because he knew how protective Chan was over Jeongin and if the younger had managed to procure a date, it would mean that he had some serious persuasion abilities. 

“Uh, not really. Well, maybe. I’m not really sure yet.” 

“Oh? Is this the Yedam boy you were talking about? The one you knew from Busan?” Seungmin mumbled with his lips coated in whipped cream. 

Hyunjin didn’t interrupt the little conversation, picking up on the fact that Yedam was a previous boyfriend of his who had just reappeared in his life. As the time flew by, sun slowly going down, Hyunjin was coming to the conclusion that there was really no reason to be at war with the young Werewolf and after hearing all about the trials he was going through with Yedam, he would willingly admit that he felt a sort of pity for him. 

A sharp screech unexpectedly went through the Vampire’s ears, the same one seeming to affect the Werewolf too as he stopped speaking and turned his head to get a better grasp of what they both knew was happening. Wrapping an arm around Seungmin to get him to stand, Jeongin bared his teeth towards some bushes to the side of the cafe, watching Hyunjin come to their side and protectively place an arm in front of both of them. 

“What? What’s happening?” Seungmin asked worriedly.

“Demons,” snarled Hyunjin, sprinting forwards just as a Kuri demon popped out and lunged at them, the spider-like demon baring its fangs that dripped with venom that would surely kill should it pierce someone’s flesh. 

Not that it would get the chance when Hyunjin moved with the utmost precision, taking a small knife hidden underneath his jacket and began to slash the demon where it would hurt the most. It wouldn’t kill the demon, since only Shadowhunter tools imbued with runes could do such a thing but would most likely incapacitate it and that’s all they needed for now. 

Still, Seungmin knew he could do better. Earlier in the day when he had been training with Changbin, the elder had given him one of his own blades to use while he was leaving the Institute since it was so dangerous right now. Technically, he shouldn’t have been given a weapon of his own until he was certified but Changbin couldn’t care less and told him that he needed to be able to protect himself against demons should the need arise. Now seemed like one of those times. 

Breaking free of Jeongin’s grip, Seungmin took advantage of Hyunjin holding the demon’s attention, twirling the blade around in his hand before plunging it straight into the arachnid’s head. With a high pitched scream, the demon immediately turned to dust, disintegrating and leaving a pool of opaque liquid in its wake. The action seemed to surprise Hyunjin who had been so focused on fighting that he never noticed Seungmin move behind him and put an end to the fight. 

“Well, nicely done, Minnie,” Hyunjin breathed, dampening his irritation and concealing his blade. 

“Yeah, you too. Why did that demon try to attack us? What was it doing in a public place like this anyway?” the Shadowhunter remarked, thankful that the outside of the cafe had been barren, nobody to witness them swinging around some blades at thin air. 

“I don’t know. They wouldn’t usually come at a group of people like that. I don’t-”

Jeongin’s explanation was cut off by Seungmin’s phone ringing, as well as Hyunjin’s, both picking up immediately. 

“Hello?”

“Minnie? Oh, thank god. Where are you right now?” Jisung’s alarmed voice crackled through the speaker of Seungmin’s phone, the younger having to plug his other ear to hear him properly. 

“I’m with Hyunjin and Jeongin at a cafe. We just got attacked by a demon. What’s going on, Sung?”

The line broke up again, making Jisung’s words almost inaudible. Out of the side of his eye, Seungmin could see Hyunjin hurriedly talking to whoever was on the other end, Jeongin furiously looking between both of them. 

“Wait, Sung, you’re breaking up, what did you say?”

“I said that there’s something happening in the city. We’ve gotten over twenty reports of demon sightings, with some of them engaging in attacks, all happening at the same time and more are incoming. I just wanted to make sure you were alright but we’re heading out to help. Come back to the Institute as fast as you can. I want you here and safe.” 

Hyunjin finally ended the call, turning to Jeongin when he saw that Seungmin was still on the phone. The Vampire rushed out what he knew about the attacks and how he needed to go straight back to his hotel to try and help with the chaos in town.

“Sung, I can help. This is what I’ve been training for, right? I think it would be safer if I stayed with Hyunjin. He’s going to his hotel and we’ll take Innie with us too. It’ll be better if we stick together.” 

There were more mutterings in the background, with Woojin’s voice coming through as he seemed to argue with Jisung, no doubt about Seungmin’s thoughts. 

“Minnie, you’re still a rookie. You haven’t learned everything you need to yet. Shadowhunter’s train for years before they’re sent out into the field. Wooj doesn’t think it’s such a good idea,” Jisung argued, hushing Woojin as he continued to say his thoughts on the matter. 

“Look, I’m not saying that I’ll run straight into the middle of the battle. I just think I could provide some support, help people. That’s what Shadowhunters do, isn’t it? I promise I’ll stay with Hyunjin, you don’t have to worry about me.” 

A few seconds of silence passed, no doubt his two friends just staring at each other in frustration when they knew that they could use all the help that they could get but not wanting to put Seungmin in harm’s way when he wasn’t a qualified Shadowhunter yet. Still, it seemed that Woojin caved when Jisung let out a defeated whine of sorts and called on Seungmin to make sure he was still there. 

“Wooj says that he’ll allow that if you make sure you stick with Hyunjin, ok? I’ll check in with you again really soon but I need to go now. Stay safe, Minnie and tell Hyunjin that if anything happens to you, I’ll break his legs” Jisung panted out, surely running around the Institute trying to get ready for supporting those who might need it in the city. 

Seungmin agreed, telling the elder that he would surely pass his message along to the Vampire. This seemed to be a high pressure situation and everyone was going to need as much help as they could get. Seungmin had been training. Hard. He was progressing really quickly. He knew that he could help if he was given the chance and if Hyunjin was going out to the city to help, then Seungmin was going too. After Jisung had ended the call, Seungmin quickly rejoined a slightly spooked looking Jeongin and Hyunjin. 

“Hey, Sung told me what happened. I told him I’d stay with you for the time being and that we would take Innie but you should definitely call Chan and let him know that you’re coming with us, ok?”

Seungmin knew that the alpha would surely have an aneurysm if Jeongin attempted to walk back to the Institute by himself when there was so much chaos beginning to build and that he was much safer staying with himself and Hyunjin than going anywhere on his own. 

“Ok, we need to check the situation in town but we’re going to go to the hotel first and regroup. Come on, let’s go and figure out what’s going on,” Hyunjin stated, leading the two younger boys into the depth of the city, unsure of what they would find within the darkening streets. 

* * *

The moment Felix had stepped back into the Fae realm, he knew something was amiss. As soon as the portal closed behind him, he found two of the Queen’s knights in front of him, two of the most callous Faeries within the Queen’s court. Ones that took pride in picking out Felix’s flaws and verbalising every single thought that they had on the matter. The fact that they had obviously been waiting for Felix to return did not put his mind to rest. 

“Axel? Lua? Why are you here?”

“The Queen wishes to speak to you. Why she would waste time with you is beyond me but she didn’t sound all that happy about _ why _she wanted to see you,” Lua chortled wickedly, letting Felix know that he was more than likely soon to be at the Queen’s mercy. 

Knowing it would be futile to try and resist, Felix let himself be led back to the court, being caged in by the two knights like some sort of animal. In all the times he had gone to the human realm, there had never been any problems upon his return and he began to wonder what had happened differently this time around. 

The day hadn’t started out particularly well. Felix had to save Woojin’s from his father’s wrath when the morning had just barely begun. From what he had heard from Seungmin, he hadn’t realised that his father had been physical towards him but after seeing his raised fist, it was more than clear. Still, Felix felt a small sense of satisfaction after he had caused the man to become dumbstruck when he used his magic upon him and dragged Woojin away to get some sweet treats with him. 

The Shadowhunter had been relatively quiet as he sat in the ice cream parlour with Felix but as time went on, he loosened up slightly, even more so when Changbin called the Faerie to say he had finished training with Seungmin and eventually joined them. Before he arrived though, Woojin had begged him to stay quiet about the altercation with his father and, as his friend, Felix promised that he would not share Woojin’s secret if he did not wish for it to be known. That seemed to make Woojin’s mood even lighter before the three of them were sharing laughter and that wonderfully delicious bubblegum ice cream that Felix had been so unsure about. 

When Woojin and Changbin had to return to the Institute, Felix bid them goodbye, knowing they probably had some important work to do and would undoubtedly be a distraction. Now, as he saw the unamused look on the Seelie Queen’s face, he sort of wished he had remained at Changbin’s side. 

“Greetings, my queen. What is it you wished to speak to me about?” Felix inquired politely as he bent down on one knee, head lowered in respect which he wasn’t so sure he felt towards her anymore. 

“Felix, from where have you just come?” 

“The human realm, my queen,” replied Felix, not particularly fond of where this was going. 

“And tell me, what were you there for?” 

It was a rare occurrence that the Seelie Queen wasn’t looking at her own reflection in a mirror when she was speaking to Felix, too lost in her own beauty to care about paying attention to anyone else but now, she was staring straight at Felix, faint lines of annoyance forming across her forehead. 

“I was at the Institute, speaking with the Shadowhunters, as you requested.”

“I do not remember requesting that you stupidly fall for some human along the way though.” 

Breath catching in his chest, Felix felt his eyes widen at the rancor in the Queen’s voice. It was no secret that she was not the greatest fan of humans, especially Shadowhunters but in fairness, she thought practically everybody was beneath her. 

“Your Majesty? To whom are you referring to?” Felix tried. Since he could not outright deny that he was in a relationship with Changbin without going against his nature and lying, he needed to try and find another loophole, attempting to feign ignorance.

“You know very well of whom I speak. A boy named Changbin, correct? Or so my sources tell me.” 

Craning his neck to look behind himself, he could already see Axel and Lua snickering a little, knowing that they probably played the part of the spy on his interactions with Changbin, though he had never been aware of their presence, leaving him wondering how much of his time with Changbin they had reported back to the Seelie Queen. 

“My queen, it is not-” 

Raising her hand to impede his speech, the Queen raised up off of her throne wrapped in vines and roses, slowly walking towards Felix, gesturing for him to raise himself up off of the mossy forest floor. 

“The reason I chose you to go to the human realm is because you were the one that I knew would not cause me any aggravation since you were so terrified of them.” 

With her voice consumed by mockery, the woman ran her finger along Felix’s wing, the young man shuddering as her nail traced the scar that still reminded him of the abundance of pain he felt that night.

“From here on out, you are no longer required to venture to the human realm. You are to stay by my side and serve me from here. Someone else shall attend those wretched meetings in my place.”

No. No, she couldn’t do that. The meetings may have been the main reason he had begun going to the human realm in the first place but they weren’t the only reason that he wanted to go there anymore. He had a life there, friends, someone he loved. She couldn’t stop him from going but since he was sworn to serving her, perhaps she could. Being the ruler of the entire Fae realm, there wasn’t much that Felix could do to disobey her. It wasn’t like he could run, he would be apprehended. He couldn’t fight the entire court, he would surely lose. He wouldn’t do anything to anger the Queen, not when his mother was still here and something unsavoury could happen to her. Still, he couldn’t just let this go. 

“No, wait. My queen, please-”

“Your loyalties have been quite askew as of late, Felix. Feeling anything such as love towards a human is just not acceptable. You were going there to get information for me, not for your own gain. Remember that you are in my employ because of your mother’s mistake all those years ago.”

Trying to take away everything he had gained in the last few months was unacceptable but there was very little Felix could do as of now to stop the series of events from unfolding. Still, when the Seelie Queen once again referenced his mother’s ‘disloyalty’ to the Crown, Felix could not hold his tongue, not when it sounded like she was alluding to him rather than the incident as a whole. 

“I am not a mistake.” 

“Pardon me?” the Queen quizzed perplexed, turning back to face him as she walked away.

“My mother was in a relationship with a young man, a Wild Faerie. Being of two different worlds, they were unable to stay together and that was _ your _fault.”

The other Faeries standing in the court stood frozen as Felix spoke back towards their leader. Nobody ever dared to do such a thing. Most Fae were loyal to the Crown, more than content with living according to the old codes that were centuries old. Still, Felix was sure there were others in the Fae realm, perhaps some too scared to come forward because of the Seelie Queen’s power, who did not agree with the way things were run. No one would voice those opinions, of course, for fear of losing the Queen’s protection and having to leave their home to venture into the human world without any resources to start a new life. 

Felix, however, could not stand by and be insulted like this, not when he knew that there were people who loved him for who he was, that his mother cherished him more than anything in the world. Callie never tried to hide the fact that she had always loved his father but when they agreed to end things since she had to return to serve the Queen, she never imagined that she would be carrying a child inside of her, one that needed to be protected at all costs in her eyes. When it was discovered that she was pregnant, the Queen had been outraged, losing one of her attendants in such an unexpected manner. It was then she told Callie that the only way she could keep her unborn child safe was to stay under her protection, even if she had to give up her freedom for it. 

“You were the one who told her that she had disgraced you by being with someone outside of your court, like you can possibly help who you fall in love with and the reason that she stayed here was because you told a young, pregnant and frightened Faerie that nobody in the human realm would help her. You told her she needed to stay here amongst her people or end up dying in the streets on her own, even when you had no intention of helping her. My mother raised me by herself without any help from this court. She could have been happy if it was not for you. My mother _ loved _ my father and he loved her and what came out of that love was me. Every day that I am with her, she tells me of how I am everything to her, that she wouldn’t change a thing about her past because she couldn’t imagine her life without me. She did not do anything wrong all those years ago. She fell in love and I am _ not _a mistake!”

Felix was sure that he had never raised his voice in the entirety of his life and never did he think that it would be towards the ruler of his realm but he did not regret his words. Sick and tired of how he had always been treated like an outsider, knowing his mother had been treated the same way after he had been born, Felix decided to let it be known how he really felt towards the entire court he had spent his life serving, on that had behaved so horridly towards him and treated him with absolutely no respect. 

Perhaps it was those in the human realm who truly set his heart free and Felix felt lighter than he had in all of his life now that he had gotten his hidden feelings off of his chest but he knew that there would be consequences for challenging the Queen in such a way, especially in front of the entire court. 

“Take him to his quarters and make sure he stays there. I shall decide on what to do with him later,” she hummed, face void of any emotion. 

Arms being grabbed with unnecessary force, Felix let himself be dragged back to his room by Axel and Lua, already aware that it would be unwise to oppose the Queen’s word. He would have some time alone anyway, time to try and figure out how he would get back to Changbin and hopefully leave this wretched realm with his mother beside him.

While he wanted to return for his own peace of mind, it was the quiet whispers between the Queen and one of her guards that alerted Felix to the fact that he most definitely had to return to the human realm, to warn Changbin of possibly dangerous happenings that, for now, he was still unaware of.

“We don’t need him running to those deplorable Shadowhunters and spilling our involvement in this whole fiasco either. Make sure he does not leave. Do what you wish with him in the meantime to keep him silent.”

“Yes, my queen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I ever mentioned that I love badass Felix? Probably.  
Anywho, a sudden outbreak of demon attacks? What could that possibly mean?  
And next week, we have the reactions to the attacks with all of the groups and how they handle it. Some better than others...bye!


	36. Waylay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, finally some action coming your way. The next few chapters are going to get a little bit crazy but there will be important questions answered soon too. Buckle up guys. Enjoy!

The sounds of the warning alarms blaring throughout the Institute shook Woojin from his thoughts as he sat in his office speaking with Changbin. The younger had been gushing about his time with Felix, telling Woojin about how he never expected to fall so hard, so fast for the Faerie. Despite his own inner demons at the moment, Woojin could never feel any resentment towards his brother when he spoke about how happy he was that Felix had agreed to allow Changbin to court him. The elder’s mind was still reeling from the fact that Felix had stepped up to his father yesterday, no doubt saving him from another split lip and had then taken him out for ice cream afterwards. What was even stranger was that Yunseok hadn’t brought the incident up with Woojin when he came back. After returning to the Institute with Changbin, Woojin had passed his father in the hallway, just getting a sideways glance before Yunseok had turned back to whatever he had been studying. Weird in itself but Woojin was just thankful that he would at least go another day without having to use his  _ Iratze  _ rune again. 

That sense of tranquility within the young man’s mind was shattered at the sound of the alarm. 

“What the hell is that ringing for?” Changbin wondered more to himself than Woojin, placing his hands on the armrest of the chair he had been sitting in to vault himself before beginning to sprint towards the surveillance room, with Woojin following closely behind. 

It was a safekeep that had been set up at Woojin’s request when he had taken charge, to alert everyone within the Institute that they were needed to congregate in the surveillance room due to an emergency. If someone had set it off, then it could only spell out trouble for them all. 

As Changbin rushed ahead towards the monitors, Woojin could see Yugyeom already talking to Dahyun, pointing at the screens in front of him that were covered in numerous red dots. The leader’s stare only deviated for a moment but that was all it took to see Chan standing off to the side with Jisung, a quizzical look upon his face as he wondered what was happening for everyone to have to gather together like this. Woojin didn’t even know he was in the Institute, let alone that he had obviously been talking with Jisung but that didn’t matter right now. 

“Yugyeom, talk to me.”

“Multiple blips across the city, boss. Mina called in a demon attack in Itaewon, she’s on patrol with Jeno and they reported back in to say that it was taken care of but within about five minutes of that call, we had eight accounts of sightings and another five of attacks around Seoul and it’s increasing at a seriously worrying pace.”   


Even while Yugyeom had been explaining, more and more red dots popped up on the map of Seoul, indicating even more incidents were being recorded. Woojin couldn’t understand it, why things were escalating this quickly, this  _ unexpectedly. _

“What the hell is happening?” Changbin mused with skepticism, sharing in Woojin’s complete lack of understanding. 

“Contact those out on patrol, make sure everyone has a partner with them and not to leave anyone on their own,” Woojin began, terrified about what all of this could mean. “We’re going to nip this in the bud and try and control the situation as quickly as we can. I’ll pair everyone currently in the Institute off and assign them to the areas that have a reported-”

“What in the  _ blazes _ is going on here?” 

Interrupting his orders, Woojin turned just in time to see Yunseok storm into the room, hands on hips and eyes full of rage since there was such a cluster of people clogging up the floor like this. As he drew closer and noticed the mania on the screen, he swung around to glare at his son. 

“Why aren’t you handling this? This is nothing short of mayhem. Give your subordinates orders!”

“That’s what he was doing until you interrupted him.” 

Woojin wouldn’t stand up for himself on a good day and this was a very,  _ very  _ bad one, knowing the sort of expectations being placed on his shoulders from the chaos. Even though he had told them time and time again to hold their tongue around Yunseok, both Jisung and Changbin would sometimes slip and speak back to him but this time, it was not their distaste for the man that echoed throughout the room that was only being filled by the continuous siren. 

“Did you say something, Werewolf?” 

It surprised Woojin immensely that it had been Chan, still tucked away in the corner of the room with Jisung and keeping out of everyone’s way, who had the one who had defended his leadership against his father’s sharp words. No matter what they went through, no matter what happened in their past, no matter what sort of hatred Chan now felt towards Woojin, nobody, absolutely nobody would compare Yunseok in Chan’s eyes and how much the alpha acutely despised him. 

“Don’t mind me,” Chan huffed, never breaking eye contact with the man staring him down. 

“What are you even doing here? Besides the meetings, what is the point of you coming to the Institute? I should think that the previous reason for your visits here has all but been removed.” 

Numerous sharp breaths could be heard when it was more than obvious that Yunseok had been referring to Chan’s broken relationship with his son. And for Woojin, it was such a slap across the face. Not that he had time to deal with any of this shit at the moment. 

“Just visiting friends,” Chan growled as he nodded his head towards Jisung, who had his hands firmly wrapped around Chan’s arm. Whether that was for his own comfort or to hold the alpha back was unknown. 

Blocking out the scene behind him since it was only going to make him more agitated, Woojin resumed giving orders to Yugyeom, telling him to gather as many people as he could in the meeting room so that he could send out patrols as quickly as he could. 

When every Shadowhunter available rushed towards the designated meeting place, Woojin suddenly remembered that one of his friends was not by his side. Whipping his head around, remembering that Seungmin had gone on an outing with Hyunjin and Jeongin, he hurriedly rushed over to Jisung. 

“Where is Seungmin?!” 

“Oh, oh, shit. He’s still in town with the others!”

“Wait, they’re not here? I thought Jeongin was still in the Institute!” Chan yelled, finally catching on that his pup wasn’t as safe as he first believed. 

“Call him, Sung,” Woojin pleaded, knowing that would be faster since he had left his own phone in his office after running to see what the cause of the alarm was. 

As Jisung dialed the youngest Shadowhunter’s number, Woojin stepped back and looked over Chan’s obviously bothered state. He clearly cared a great deal for Jeongin, that was more than obvious but there was a time that Chan would have been that worried about Woojin’s safety too, when he used to go out on missions, being gone for a week or two, not being able to tell him about what he was doing or where he was going. Though, that almost seemed like a different lifetime ago now. 

“Minnie? Oh, thank god. Where are you right now?” Jisung squeaked, moving away from Chan as the elder almost tried to grab the phone out of his hands. 

With Jisung continually speaking down the phone, he eventually turned to Woojin, telling him that Seungmin wanted to stay in town with Hyunjin and Jeongin, that they would bring the youngest to the hotel with them where it would be safer, making Chan relax just a little bit. 

“He wants to help? He’s still not qualified yet. He’s doing well in his training but I don’t think he’s ready for something of this calibre,” Woojin reasoned, knowing that they could use all the help that they could get but not wanting to put Seungmin in that kind danger when he had so much left to learn. 

Jisung relayed his message to the redhead but was once again met with resistance at the idea of staying out of the action. Woojin didn’t even need Jisung to tell him what Seungmin was saying, the elder actually being able to hear that Seungmin just wanted to provide support rather than fight. 

“Fine, fine but he stays with Hyunjin. He’s not to leave his side.” 

Jisung nodded and turned his back to try and block out the noise of the bustling Institute while he swiftly muttered something about breaking Hyunjin’s legs if anything happened to Seungmin.    


It was unlikely that they could handle such a vast number of demon attacks on their own, even if they had a decent number of fighters stationed at the Institute right now. Still, there was no shame in asking for help. Well, maybe there was for Woojin but he would swallow his pride if it meant that he could save innocent lives. 

“Chan?” 

The Werewolf turned his attention towards the elder, eyes still full of visible worry for Jeongin since he wasn’t able to be by his side. 

“Do you think your pack could help out with the partols? I think the more firepower we have going into this, the quicker we can quash whatever the hell is happening. I don’t know if this is linked to… _ that  _ but if it is, then we need to get to the bottom of this as quickly as we can.” 

While there was a hint of hesitation, Chan knew that, despite wanting to keep his pack as far away from danger as he could, the majority of them, with the exclusion of the pups, were rather skilled fighters. It was something that Chan insisted on, that everyone in his pack, upon turning sixteen, learned how to fight and defend themselves should the need for it arise and if this wasn’t an instance where they had to put those skills to use, he didn’t know what was. 

“I’ll call everyone who I know can take care of themselves to come here. They won’t be more than ten minutes.”

“Thank you, Chan.”

Waving the thanks off with his hand and a hurried shake of his head, Chan took out his phone, dialling in Wonsik’s number, ready to tell his friends to shift and meet them at the Institute as quickly as they could. 

“Sung, before you put your phone away, could you ring Minho?” Woojin asked, already making his way to the meeting room where he would dole out roles for the rounds around the city to try and tackle the ever incoming demon sightings and attacks. 

“What? W-why?”

It had been a simple request, not one to make Jisung react with such an uncertain stutter the way that it did but Woojin didn’t question the strange look painted upon his friend’s face. 

“Because he probably doesn’t know about this yet. He’s still at the Spiral Labyrinth doing research. We should inform him, being the High Warlock and all and we could really use his help in plugging up all the open portals that the demons are coming through.” 

“Right. Of course. Give me a minute.”    


Reaching the door, Woojin noticed Changbin walking quietly beside him, lip caught between his teeth with obvious worry but from Woojin’s perspective, it wasn’t simply about the attacks themselves. 

“You alright, Bin?” 

“Hmm? Yeah, yeah.”

Brushing off Woojin’s worry with an obvious lie didn’t sate the elder’s apprehension, pulling Changbin aside before they entered the room bursting with mayhem. 

“What’s up?” 

“Nothing. I was just thinking about Lix but he’s back in the Faerie realm. It’s probably safer than here to be fair. Can’t contact him anyways but I’m sure he’s ok.” 

Changbin was right on that point. The Fae realm basically had a built in security system in that, if someone were to enter it, the Seelie Queen would know immediately and send out guards to apprehend whoever dared do such a thing. On another positive note, demons were unable to break through the portal that led from the human realm to the Fae one, proving Changbin’s point that Felix was indeed safer there than with them. Or, so they liked to believe. 

“Wooj, I called Min like three times already but he isn’t answering me.”

“Probably still at the Labyrinth. It’s like Alicante, electronics won’t work there. Send him a few messages, Sung to tell him what’s happening. Once he exits the Labyrinth, he can portal back quickly. Look, we don’t have any more time to waste. More people are at risk of getting hurt the longer we stand here. Let’s go.” 

Being as efficient as he possibly could, Woojin paired everyone together, somes in threes and fours to tackle the areas that were shown to be overrun with demons. Chan went with one of his own pack, Woojin greeting Wonsik since he had met him so many times in the past when he had gone to Chan’s home to spend the night. All that he got in return was a curt nod, no doubt a result of the fact that he had broken his alpha’s heart. Knowing that they worked well together, Woojin told Changbin to stay with Jisung and head for the centre of the city. When asked by Jisung who he would be going with, the leader said that he’d take Yugyeom with him to an area close to where they were going. With that covered, Woojin ushered everyone off, making his way back into the surveillance room to collect Yugyeom and head out to eradicate whatever demons that they came across. 

“Yugyeom, let’s go. You’re with me. We’ll check out an area of Gangnam.” 

Just as Yugyeom gave a thumbs up and stood to gather his bearings, he was harshly pushed back down and motioned towards the blinking monitor. 

“No, Yugyeom. You are to stay here and help me oversee the situation until it has calmed down. I’m sure you can find someone else to take to cover your area, Woojin.” 

It sounded almost like a challenge since Yunseok undoubtedly knew that everyone had already run to the city to help with the havoc that had erupted in the streets. There was nobody else that Woojin could take with him if Yunseok was keeping Yugyeom here. Even when Woojin was the head of the Institute, Yunseok was still of a higher position overall and if he said that Yugyeom was to stay and try to ascertain the cause of the sudden demon infestation, then that’s what he had to do, especially when Woojin knew not to challenge the man. In the end, Woojin figured he’d just have to meet up with Jisung and Changbin since he already knew that they were headed to an area not too far off from where he had chosen to survey. The three of them could cover the two areas together.

“That’s alright. I’ll head out by myself and meet up with Jisung and Changbin.” 

With a small snort from Yunseok and a timid ‘I’m sorry’ mouthed to him by Yugyeom, Woojin grabbed his weapons from his locker and attached them to his thigh and waist. He already knew that it was going to be a rather long night but it wouldn’t be until much later that Woojin would realise that heeding his father’s words would cause a whole series of events to unfold. 

* * *

“Innie? What are you doing? Come on, we’ve gotta go!” Seungmin panted, confused as to why he was still so out of breath despite all the rigorous training that Changbin had subjected him to throughout the past month. 

Still, Jeongin didn’t budge, his eyes being drawn to an apartment building across the street. The young wolf looked like he wanted to bolt, his feet already inching their way towards the road but he was holding himself back, like he knew that he didn’t have time for a diversion when they were needed elsewhere. 

“Hey, Innie. What’s up?” Seungmin soothed, seeing the younger’s ears pop out, quickly placing his hands over them to protect his identity from Mundanes. 

After all his studying, Seungmin knew that the main reason a Downworlder’s supernatural features revealed themselves was because they were stressed and even though this situation was indeed a tense one, that wasn’t the cause of such an unexpected transformation. 

“I…just…I’m worried about Yedam.”   


So, that was the reason. The person that Jeongin had overly complicated feelings for was on the other side of the street and his obvious instincts were beginning to take over, his wolf wanting to make sure that someone who he could have considered his mate was not in danger from the monsters roaming the streets. 

“Demons are aware that he can see them and I just wonder if he’s ok at a time like this.”

“Jeongin, we do  _ not  _ have time to check on every single person we’re worried about here. We need to try and tackle this situation or innocent people could get hurt!” Hyunjin reasoned with haste and while it seemed like he was annoyed with the younger, he had also rushed to stand straight in front of him to make sure nobody could see him from the street as he tried to control his wolf. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.” 

Seungmin could feel the pup’s ears wilt beneath his fingertips, showing how dejected he felt being scolded by the Vampire but at the same time, knowing that he definitely made a good point. His own personal wants were not at the top of the list when a crisis such as this was ongoing. 

Still, Seungmin could only feel pity towards his friend whose only wish was to make sure that one of the people he cared for most could have been in danger. The wolf had told Seungmin all about Yedam, his history with the Mundane and how it was that they had come to find each other again. It was truly heart shattering, how much distance had been put between the two after they had come so far together and even though he knew that there wasn’t any time to waste, he felt like he needed to give Jeongin just a few moments to make sure that Yedam was free from harm.

“Hyunjinnie…”   


The Vampire threw his boyfriend a look that shouted ‘you can’t be serious’, knowing exactly what Seungmin wanted simply from saying his name in that whiny tone of voice. When it was accompanied by that terribly adorable pout, the one that Hyunjin could not fight back against, the elder clenched his teeth together to hold back on a frustrated scream. 

“You have five minutes,” Hyunjin raged, though he knew he couldn’t be too upset with Jeongin for wanting to check on someone he cared about in a time such as this. If it were him and he were separated from Seungmin, he would be running to the Institute at full speed to make sure he was safe. 

With the permission to leave, Jeongin leapt across the street, narrowly missing running into a couple who were leisurely walking down the street, the man yelling at the pup to watch where he was going. Seeing him rush in the front door, only Seungmin and Hyunjin remained, standing quietly on the side of the street. 

“Minnie?” 

“Yeah?” Seungmin replied, turning to face Hyunjin as the Vampire took his hand in his. 

“How are you holding up? This must be pretty strange for you.”

Strange had up and left the building and what returned in its place was complete and utter discombobulation. He was just slowly getting used to everyday normal Shadowhunter life. Well, as normal as a Shadowhunter life could be and now he was being thrown into an even bigger mess of weirdness than before. 

“Just over a month ago, I would be walking home from work right about now, going back to an empty apartment and eating instant noodles by myself while watching some crappy tv program until I fell asleep. Now, waiting for my Werewolf friend while he checks on his ex boyfriend, holding onto my Vampire boyfriend’s hand, just about to run off to try and fend off some demons so they don’t hurt innocent civilians? Yeah, it’s pretty damn weird.”    


That caused a little chuckle to bubble in Hyunjin’s throat, one that transferred over to Seungmin and allowed him to feel more assured that they would come out of all of this ok. A special talent that Hyunjin seemed to have. 

“Not that I’m complaining. Not counting this situation, I’d much prefer this life over my old one,” Seungmin decided, shivering at the thought of returning to his previous existence. 

“Well, I’m glad that you came into all of our lives too, angel.”

Apparently that little addition had been entirely on purpose, the unheard pet name that Hyunjin so easily let slip with such a giddy laugh. 

“Angel?”

“What? I think that’s a pretty damn accurate pet name, don’t you?” gasped Hyunjin, appalled that Seungmin had the audacity to make fun of his choice of nickname. 

“Can’t believe you’re being all soft when we’re in the middle of a crisis like this,” Seungmin laughed, knowing that it was Hyunjin more so trying to keep him calm and distract him from the obvious nervousness building up in his gut. 

The feeling was washed away when a threatening growl echoed in their ears, drawing their attention towards the sound, only for the two young men to see a demon crawling around the corner of a building, a monster that Seungmin wasn’t familiar with but at the same time, one that made an unwanted prickling sensation cause goosebumps to appear on his arms. 

The monster resembled some type of enormous slug, the creature leaving behind a trail of mucus in its wake as its mouth continually clicked together, emitting a chattering sound that made Seungmin cover his ears. Still, seeing as the demon was on its own, Seungmin thought it would be the perfect time to eradicate it before it joined with even more monsters and decided to hurt someone. 

“Hyunjin, we’ve got to get rid of that thing. It looks like it could do a lot of damage to someone.”

“Uh, yeah, it probably could. It’s a Behemoth demon and is incredibly difficult to kill, Minnie. It keeps reforming until it runs out of energy but usually the Shadowhunter trying to kill it uses up theirs before it does,” Hyunjin informed the younger, not making any move to eliminate the monster. 

Seungmin, on the other hand, had different ideas. He couldn’t let this demon slither off to harm some innocent person, not when he had the power to stop it. That’s what he had learned in all of his time at the Institute, that his own safety came second to those he was sworn to protect, even though he had technically not been sworn in yet. 

“Hyunjin, come on! The two of us can take it. We’ll be done before Jeongin even comes back outside. Let’s go!” Seungmin yelled, drawing his blade and running across the street towards the monster. 

“Minnie! The two of us won’t be enough! You can’t just- We need to go to- Seungmin! Oh, damn it!” 

* * *

After driving into Gangnam, Woojin parked the car and began to make his way towards the area that Changbin and Jisung had been designated. As much as he would like to prove to his father that he was more than capable of handling a patrol by himself, he knew that this was too much of a serious and perilous situation to run solo and possibly put himself in more danger than was needed. 

Even though he was aware of the circumstances, to the Mundanes around him, it was just another normal evening as they returned home from a regular day’s work. They were rather oblivious to the happenings of the Downworld at the moment but with the snap of someone’s fingers, they could be dragged away in the dark of the night by any one of the demons now lurking in the shadows, ones that Woojin could see from where he stood. With a glamour placed upon himself so that he became invisible to the Mundanes’ eyes, the leader sprinted forward when he saw a Mantid demon emerge from a manhole in the road, the insect-like monster’s palid and milky eyes searching for prey that was completely unaware of its existence. Not that it would ever get the chance to strike when Woojin was there to stop it. 

Quick precision and wit against a senseless demon such as that was all that was needed as Woojin dodged an oncoming car and tackled the Mantid to the ground, avoiding its pincer as it swung to defend itself. Grabbing his blade, Woojin plunged it straight down into the demon’s chest, causing it to let out an unbearable shriek before it shattered into dust, no longer able to harm those around it. 

Along the way towards his brothers, Woojin encountered three more demons, all of which he eradicated with relative ease. The streets were becoming more bare with each passing second, shops and offices closing for the rest of the day and it was honestly a good thing since there were less likely to be more victims that the demons could sink their claws into. 

Woojin was sure he was close to where Jisung and Changbin were but stopped in his tracks when he heard a hair raising screech echo through the alleyway he was running past. 

“Help me! Someone! Anyone! Please!” 

The young woman’s yells ignited something in Woojin, somehow feeling that some poor person was being attacked by the things he came here to kill. Without hesitation, Woojin darted towards the continuous wails, jumping over the toppled trash cans, almost stepping on a stray cat that hissed at Woojin as he quickly muttered an apology towards the animal. Rounding the corner to where the attack was happening according to his senses, Woojin came face to face with a dead end. No demon, woman or anything of the sort to be found. 

This was definitely where he had heard the sound coming from. All around him, high rise, empty office buildings sat, nobody in them to possibly let out those horrible pleas that he had heard only seconds ago. He hadn’t been hearing things either, unless he had suddenly procured a case of insanity. 

It was strange. It felt wrong. It almost felt like he had been lured. It felt like…a trap. 

“Good evening, Woojin.” 

It wasn’t a voice that many humans, Mundane or otherwise, had ever been given the pleasure of hearing. In fact, there was very little about the man standing behind Woojin that was known to anyone outside of Edom. Still, even before turning around to face him, the Shadowhunter was aware of who had addressed him and it in no way settled the uneasy feeling that was clawing away at his chest. 

“Azazel,” Woojin greeted in a shaky tone, wondering why the hell a Greater Demon and a prince of Edom at that, was standing behind him, not attacking and staring him down like a piece of meat ready to be torn apart. 

“Oh, dear. What is a Shadowhunter like you doing in a place like this? All. By. Yourself.”

The fight or flight instinct intrinsically built into every human was already beginning to kick in for Woojin, the Shadowhunter wanting nothing more than to find some sort of escape route, knowing that there was no way in heaven or hell he would be able to take on a Greater Demon by himself and live to tell the tale. Their power was a hundred times that of a lesser demon like the ones he had faced along the way coming here. The only way he could get away from this in one piece was to try and distract the Demon long enough to formulate some kind of a plan for a situation that he never thought he’d be placed into. 

“Well, seeing as how the city is currently being overrun by demons and it’s my job to put a stop to that, it would seem as if my reason for being here is obvious,” Woojin tried shamelessly, though he said nothing of the reference the demon had made to being by himself. “There was a woman, I heard her screaming for help. Where is she?”

“Oh, there was never anyone in any trouble. I have always been good at imitating humans in distress since I come into contact with them so often.” 

To prove his point, Azazel opened his mouth wide, letting the same exact scream he had heard moments ago, scarily accurate, sounding like a poor soul screaming for their life. 

“It’s very convincing, isn’t it, Woojin?”

That was the second time that the Shadowhunter had been referred to directly and it sent a chill up Woojin’s spine to have a Greater Demon be aware of his name like that. 

“That is something that’s been bothering me. It’s not a surprise that I know who you are and what name you go by but I can’t say the same for why you seem to be familiar with my name. As much as I like to believe I am important enough for a Greater Demon such as yourself to be aware of me, I know that is not the case.” 

“Ah, little details such as that are not important. I believe that you have become acquainted with much greater knowledge, Woojin. Things that you shouldn’t know at all and I have been ordered to make sure that these little secrets that you have become familiar with never make it out into the world.”

Even though Azazel hadn’t referenced what he was actually speaking about, Woojin got the feeling that the confidential information he had recently discovered, the files that he had risked, not only his job but his life for, were what the Prince was referring to. Not that it made any sense to Woojin in this moment and time as to why Azazel was interested in such a thing. Still, he would do everything he could to buy himself more time if he could and if playing dumb got him that, he was going to act like he had no idea to what the other was referring to. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What information? And who ordered you to attack me?” 

With a taut little smile that hid a twinge of annoyance, Azazel scoffed and threw his head back before his pitch black eyes focused on the lone Shadowhunter once again. 

“Again, unimportant details. Not that I am at liberty to say anyways. My master has forbidden it. Still, I… _ unfortunately _ cannot disobey him and will carry out my orders.” 

With the flick of his wrist, the prince was suddenly surrounded by various types of demons, their numbers continually growing until Woojin could no longer count. The stench was rancid, making Woojin block his nose to try and keep from gagging as the two closest to him dripped sludge onto the dusty pavement. 

“Regrettably, I cannot stay and see the final performance that you will give. I must be off but my lovely pets here will be sure to take care of you for me. Goodbye, Kim Woojin. I don’t think your precious angels will save you from the demons this time.” 

And with those final words, Azazel vanished from sight, leaving the growling demons blocking Woojin’s only escape route in the alleyway where he once stood. 

Only being able to make out the outlines of the numerous beasts from what little light the moon provided him, Woojin felt his breath catch in his chest, shakily igniting his Power ruin on his stomach with his stele before reaching for two of his blades on his belt to try and defend himself for the incoming attack. 

Woojin couldn’t believe this. He was going to be put down by the gang of ravenous demons that were out for his blood. All because of the fact he had found out about a terrible secret from years ago, something he was just trying to stop from happening again.

There was no way he was winning this. There were far too many.

But there was no way in hell that Woojin wasn’t going to try. 

Raising his hand towards the monsters, he daringly gestured with his finger for them to come, knowing that there was no other way to end this than to fight for his life. 

“Come on then, assholes. Do your worst.” 

Such horrific sounds were never heard before as the demon horde let loose and dashed towards the lone Shadowhunter standing beneath the moonlight, knowing that they had already won.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally don't want to say anything about the next few chapters after you guys read them and let you make your own deductions.   
But I'll still let you have a faint idea of what's coming. Next week, we've got Binsung, Callie doing her thing as a kick ass mom, a little (read: major) confrontation with Chan and...oh, that Seungjin moment...See you next week!


	37. Abberation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how you guys are always saying you want more angst? (just go with it and say yes)   
Well, fear not. I've got your weekly dose right here. Enjoy!

A long and thoroughly pissed off groan emptied from Jisung’s mouth when he realised that his favourite leather jacket was now covered in demon goo. It was his fault really, he shouldn’t have stayed beside the monster after he had dragged his blade across its back. He was experienced, he knew that this demon would practically explode after being defeated but he had been so proud of himself that his brain had momentarily short circuited. Hence, how he came to be shaking himself like a wet dog to get the rancid liquid off of him. 

“You know, you could try and help me instead of standing there laughing your ass off, Bin!”   


Jisung did wonder if Changbin could hear him over the bellowing laughter he was currently choking upon. They had flipped a coin to decide who would attack and who would distract. The  _ Parabatais _ were a well oiled machine, knowing each other’s fighting styles inside and out but for some reason, Jisung made the point that it was always him that was stuck distracting and he wanted to be the one to eliminate a demon for once. He had won the coin toss but now he was cursing whatever god that had allowed his wish to come to fruition. 

“Sorry, Sung but you walked into that one yourself. Come here,” Changbin placated, still not letting up on his giggles as he began to wipe off the translucent sludge currently soaking Jisung’s jacket. 

“Thank you. So, that’s four down. The next sighting was somewhere on the next block. May as well go and see if it’s still there.” 

As he checked his phone for the address of where the demon had been witnessed, Jisung felt Changbin’s arm curl around his shoulders while they walked, looking up to see his  _ Parabatai  _ staring at him with a curious glint in his eye. 

“Bin? What’s wrong?” 

“I was just wondering how you were doing, Sung. Do you feel better since the last time we spoke?”

In all honesty, Jisung  _ did  _ feel better since he had spent the night cuddling with Changbin. Granted, he wasn’t completely over Minho, he wondered if he would ever be since those lingering feelings of want were still annoying him on the daily but he knew that this was better for him in the long run. If he couldn’t deal with Minho’s lifestyle, that was his problem to deal with but he was actually alright with just being his friend. That’s what he was telling himself to get him through the worst of it. Things were slowly getting more bearable now that he didn’t have to pretend that nothing was going on with Minho and though it would take even more time, Jisung was sure that he would get there in the end and he was rather proud of himself because of it. He could do it because he definitely wanted to get over Minho. Yes. He most…surely did. 

“Yeah, Bin, I do actually. Thank you for taking care of me that night. I think I just sort of lost it a little,” Jisung mumbled embarrassed, feeling Changbin tighten his grip around his shoulders. 

“You want to tell me what made you so upset?” 

Not particularly. He did wonder if it would be better to tell Changbin about his fling with Minho but he wasn’t entirely sure what his reaction would be. The possibility of being thoroughly scolded by the elder didn’t have a high place on Jisung’s ‘to do’ list and he didn’t want Changbin to be annoyed with Minho either. They had both been consenting adults in all of this but with how protective Changbin was over him, he might not care about any of that. Maybe he would divulge such information after enough time had passed but for now, it was going to stay secret as secret can be. 

“Not right now, Binnie. Besides, we have more pressing matters to deal with!” Jisung whooped, skipping the rest of the way to where they needed to go. 

Unfortunately, it seemed as if the demon that had been seen there had long since up and left, no monsters on the street to be seen but that was a good thing in a way since there were still a few people roaming around here that were blissfully unaware as to why Changbin and Jisung were there. 

“Alright, I guess we’re done here. Shall we move onto the next area?”

“Oh, one sec, Bin,” interjected Jisung, taking his ringing cell from his pocket and answering the call. “Hello?” 

_ “Hey, Jisung. How’s it going over there?”  _

“Yugyeom? It’s going fine, I guess. We’ve taken down a few of them, nothing we couldn’t handle but what do you expect from the best team at the Institute?” 

With a smug expression lighting up his face, Jisung saw Changbin agree with the sentiment in the form of two pompous thumbs up. Well, it was true. There wasn’t a single duo within the Institute that could rival their teamwork when they were put together; it was probably why Woojin had paired them off together for this as well. 

_ “Yeah, yeah, the three of you are fantastic.”  _

Doing the exceedingly difficult math in his head, Jisung pointed to Changbin, making the elder tilt his head in confusion, before pointing at himself and holding up two of his fingers in front of his eyes. 

“Yugyeom, I know you’re not the smartest cookie in the jar but Changbin plus me equals two people,” Jisung scoffed, earning himself a quirked eyebrow from Changbin. 

_ “Wait, Woojin is with you too, right?”  _   


Standing out of the way of people trying to get past them on the well lit street, Jisung began to wonder if Yugyeom was intentionally screwing with him for some reason when he sneered at the Shadowhunter’s question, despite not being able to see him. 

“Yugyeom, are you high? You were paired off with Wooj.”

_ “Jisung, Yunseok told Woojin that he wanted me to stay here to help with surveillance and guiding everyone to where the demons were sighted. Woojin left the Institute like half an hour ago to meet up with the two of you.”  _

Yunseok had told Woojin to go on a patrol alone, when there was an influx of demon sightings? Not only was that highly unprofessional on Yunseok’s part, to order someone like Woojin who was in charge of the whole operation to do what he saw fit but it was also downright dangerous. Plus, Jisung wasn’t all that happy about Woojin agreeing to go out by himself when he knew precarious things were right now. 

“But it only takes ten minutes to drive to Gangnam from the Institute. Why hasn’t he found us yet?”

That was the moment when Jisung regretted ever joking around when he realised that Woojin should have definitely been with them by now if he had left that long ago. He wouldn’t have taken a diversion somewhere, not when the main priority of the night was to keep civilians safe and wipe out the demons. Jisung just hoped Woojin wasn’t stupid enough to take on said demons all by himself. 

_ “I called him first but he didn’t answer. It said that the number I dialled wasn’t available, that’s why I tried you next, _ ” Yugyeom fretted, the hint of fear coming loudly through the speaker. 

“Thanks, Yugyeom. I’ll call you back.” 

Without waiting for a response, Jisung cut off the call, spinning around to Changbin who was reclining against the window of a closed stationary stop, watching the world go by and waiting for Jisung to tell him what that was all about. 

“Something’s wrong, Bin. Yugyeom said that Yunseok told him to stay at the Institute and that Wooj said he would come to do rounds with us but he left thirty minutes ago. He shouldn’t be taking this long to get to us if that was the case.” 

That was all that was needed for Changbin to push himself away from the brick wall, coming closer to Jisung as he began to look behind him, as if Woojin would somehow magically appear and put their minds at ease. Unfortunately, fate was not being that kind to them on this particular night.    


“Did you try his cell?” 

“No but Yugyeom said he tried just before he called me and said that it wasn’t able to connect to him. I have a really bad feeling about this, Bin.” 

It seemed Changbin harboured that same notion as he began to pace quickly back and forth, continually repeating ‘okay, okay, okay’, as if that would give him some inspiration on how to act next. 

Not that he had ever said it to Changbin but Jisung had been told by Woojin himself that, if he had ever been put out of commission because of injury or something more sinister, he would put Changbin in charge since the young man had an excellent work ethic, cared about those that he worked with and his pristine morals would always allow him to choose the right course of action in the end. Jisung would agree with that sentiment without question and the way Changbin was currently,  _ somewhat _ , keeping his cool only further proved Woojin’s point. 

“No point aimlessly running around trying to find him when he could be anywhere. We need someone to track him. A Warlock. Has Min called you back yet?” 

Not that he needed to check but once again, Jisung took out his phone, looking at the lock screen photo of him and his parents the day before they had passed, noticing that no notifications blocked their smiling faces. No missed calls, no messages, which proved that, not only had Minho not contacted him but that Woojin hadn’t either. 

“Nothing, Bin. I called him like ten times and left messages explaining what was going on. I don’t know if he’s gotten them yet. How else are we supposed to find Wooj?” 

Jisung had asked Changbin the question but actually came up with a rather terrifically smart solution to his own query. 

“Chan!”   


“What?” Changbin squeaked, jumping a foot in the air when Jisung had all but shrieked out the Werewolf’s name and made a passing couple stare at them before crossing to the opposite side of the street. 

“Chan knows Wooj’s scent, maybe better than anyone. He could track him down for us from that.”   


While they were still in the midst of this post break up, don’t want to be in the same room, avoid eye contact, engage in some passive aggressive taunts portion of their lives, Jisung was sure that Chan wouldn’t deny them the chance of finding their friend when he could be in trouble. Chan had a kind heart and if something questionable could have happened to Woojin, surely the alpha would be willing to help. 

Still, when Changbin looked very unsure of that option, Jisung gave him a puzzled and incredulous glare when he was wasting time like this. It made Jisung think that he was being excluded from knowing some sort of secret and he really didn’t appreciate it, making that annoyance obvious when he yelled out the elder’s name. 

“All right, fine, give him a call and ask.” 

With exasperation still present, Jisung whipped out his phone and quick dialed the Werewolf, never deleting his number, even after he had stopped coming to the Institute. It only took three rings before the call was connected. 

“Chan?” 

_ “Sungie? What’s up?” _

“Where are you right now?” Jisung almost screamed with urgency, hating that he was being forced to stand still when Woojin might really need them right now. 

_ “Hmm? Where am I? Ah, you know that bookstore we used to come to in Gangnam all the time? That’s where I’ve ended up with Wonsik. Why?”  _

“Stay right there!”

_ “Wait, Jisu-” _

Maybe Jisung would get a scolding about hanging up on people before he had given them an explanation on why he was calling or a chance to reply. He really couldn’t have cared less though. They had a way of finding Woojin and the feeling of dread that was slowly building up in Jisung’s stomach just made him run all the faster when he turned in the direction of the bookshop where he knew Chan was currently at. 

“He’s really close. Come on, Bin!” 

* * *

The shards of the broken glass vase were strewn so inelegantly across the wooden floor. Though she had always been told it was so unladylike to curse, Callie couldn’t help it when a fountain of profanities tumbled from her lips. After all it had been her favourite vase, butterflies and azaleas painted upon its panes, a gift from her darling son. 

But that was the thing. 

Callie remembered the last time she had clumsily dropped something and caused it to smash to pieces. It had been when Felix had been here, speaking of his adventures in the human realm and then, he had mentioned a boy. Thinking nothing of it at first, Callie assumed it was simply a youth he had met at the meetings but when the name Changbin had come into play, she had been transported back over twenty years ago, to one of the most horrific nights of her life upon hearing that her baby had almost been killed after he had run away from her into the human realm. 

Even so, he had been saved and by a wonderfully brave Shadowhunter at that. Callie had made a friend for life that night and had heard about her soon to be arriving joy. A name that held a certain strength, that was what Areum had said when mentioning she was to call her boy Changbin and while it may have been a coincidence, a Shadowhunter within the Seoul Institute named Changbin, it just seemed like a funny little trick was being played on her. In her heart, that had been a moment of miniscule joy, knowing that Felix was acquainted with someone like that and in her surprise, she had dropped something and caused it to shatter. 

This? This was something entirely different. Call it a mother’s intuition, call it something else but Callie got the strangest feeling in her soul that something was amiss and while she couldn’t say for certain what it was, she just knew that she had to see her son this instant. It would take a couple of hours by air to reach the Queen’s dwelling but Callie had to make sure that what she feared was happening, was not. 

Unfurling her golden wings, Callie took to the sky, riding the winds like she knew how, knowing that if she kept on this track, she would get to the court at a much quicker pace. While she would not be permitted to enter the grounds of the court itself, Felix would always be allowed to come to meet her should she need to speak with him, even if their conversations were always limited to a measly few minutes. 

After what felt like an eternity, Callie touched down upon the forest floor, briskly walking towards the gates to the court where two of the Queen’s knights stood, stoic and unwelcoming. 

“Gentlemen, could one of you please let Felix know that I am here to see him?” 

Apparently, that was too much to ask of the two men who simply side eyed each other before turning back around and staring behind Callie like they hadn’t heard her at all. She knew that most of the court didn’t see her as very worthy of attention most of the time since Felix had been born but still, it wasn’t like them to downright ignore her like this. 

“I’m pretty sure I said that out loud. Could you please go and get my son for me? Now,” Callie hissed, aware that it would make little to no difference what tone she used. 

“I am afraid that your son is incapacitated at the present moment. The Queen is not allowing him to see anyone.” 

And that was all that was needed to confirm Callie’s suspicion that something was definitely wrong. Despite her low social standing, the Queen had never outright denied Callie a short period of time with her son. Not because the woman had the tiniest bit of kindness in her heart but because she really didn’t care enough to stop him. If Felix was incapable of meeting with her without giving a reason, then things were not as they seemed. 

As she stepped towards the gates, attempting to just go straight through and find Felix herself, Callie was halted in her tracks, the pointed tips of two spears being placed at her throat and stymieing her effort to locate her son. 

“You are not welcome here anymore, harlot. You disgraced the Queen once and she wishes not to see your face anymore. That boy is the Queen’s property and she will do with him as she sees fit. You will leave at once and should you try to come here again, we will not hesitate to kill you where you stand,” the knight threatened, his once neutral expression shifting to one of pure vindictiveness. 

Knowing that it would do no good to try and fight against two highly trained knights with weapons to see their threat through, Callie backed off and retreated behind the treeline where the soldiers could no longer see her. 

She was more than certain that Felix was being held back against his will, maybe even being hurt because of a possible mistake; Callie knew all about that side of the court more than anyone. The idea of the Queen denouncing Felix for his relationship with Changbin floated through her mind since there was no doubt that the Queen hadn’t changed her mindset about humans in over twenty years. If that were true, then Callie’s apprehension about her son’s safety was only intensified. 

There were very few viable options for the lone Faerie now. It wasn’t like she could break into the court and demand to see her son; that would only end up with her being killed and most likely, Felix too. The Queen would not speak to her under any circumstance. The heartless woman had made that abundantly clear when she had been kicked out of the court, not to mention the little interaction she just had with the knights. Nobody else in the realm would help her seek justice and that really only left her with one choice at the moment. 

There were people that would support her but they were not of her kind and if she had to beg, that was what she would do to save her son. Though, Callie knew that there would be no need for that, not when she knew how much Felix was loved. 

Dashing towards the portal, Callie raised her hand towards the trunk of the tree, muttering a spell which would allow her to flee to the human realm. Though she couldn’t use her wings there, Callie would run as fast as her legs would carry her to find her son’s love, knowing that he was her only hope if she wished to see her boy again. 

* * *

Jisung’s speed really was unmatched and Changbin was well aware of the fact but when he was desperately trying to keep up with the sprinting young man, begging his lungs to take in whatever oxygen they could, he couldn’t understand how Jisung’s legs actually managed to move that quickly. 

“Bin, it’s right around this corner. Come on, faster!” Jisung yelled over his shoulder, never letting up on the absurd speed he had built up. 

When Changbin did eventually catch up, they both found Chan standing exactly where Jisung had told him to stay, another Werewolf they had seen once or twice before standing next to him. Chan didn’t even get a chance to ask what was going on before Jisung was bouncing up to him and grabbing onto his arms, like he would run away if given the chance. 

“Chan, we need your help! Like, right now!” 

“Hey, Jisung. You’re hurting me. Calm down, what’s going on?” Chan argued, trying to get free of Jisung’s grip, which Changbin knew he could do if he used a bit more strength but probably didn’t want to run the risk of hurting Jisung at the same time. 

“I’ll keep a lookout just in case, Chan. Take your time,” the other wolf spoke, figuring out that this was probably nothing to do with the current demon situation and therefore, nothing to do with him as he headed a little further down the street. 

“All right, Sung. Deep breath first and then you can tell me why you’re so freaked out.” 

Chan was a great alpha leader, that was clear for anyone to see. That’s what most people would recognise him as but before all of that, both Changbin and Jisung had known him as a big brother. The calming aura that he had perfected when they were around made both of them feel that they could spill their deepest and darkest secrets and not have to worry about Chan’s reaction. That’s the way he had always been, even if he had been a little more distant as of late. 

“Wooj is missing. He left the Institute to come and meet us but he never arrived. We can’t get a hold of him and we don’t know where he is!” Jisung sniffled, obviously on the verge of tears. 

“Wait, why are you worried? He’s partnered up with Yugyeom, right? They’ll be fine, Sung.”

“That’s the thing,” Changbin interjected, placing his hand between Jisung’s shoulder blades to try and get him to calm down a bit. “Yunseok made Yugyeom stay at the Institute and forced Wooj to go out on patrol by himself. He’s not stupid though, he would never do that, so he was going to meet with us. That didn’t happen though.” 

A flash of uncertainty zipped through the wolf’s eyes and, maybe, a small spark of panic too but almost immediately, Chan composed himself and reeled in whatever emotions he had just been feeling and patted Jisung’s shoulders. 

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about but if you do, why not ring Min and ask him to track him down?” 

“Don’t you think I’ve tried that? I’ve called Min so many times but he isn’t answering. We’re wasting time, Chan! Why won’t you just help us find him?” 

With a slightly over dramatic sigh, Chan began to pull away from Jisung once again, this time succeeding in escaping the younger’s clutches. 

“Jisung, you’re just overreacting. I’m sure he’s fine. He's more than capable of looking after himself,” Chan soothed, forcing a bogus smile as he patted Jisung’s locks that had long since been tossed by the wind. “He made that _quite _clear.”

A taut string within Changbin’s chest finally snapped after the Werewolf mumbled the final sentence, when he realised that the reason that Chan wasn’t immediately running to find the Shadowhunter was because he was still hanging onto what had happened between them all those months ago. As much as he had put up with the tension between them, the chasm that had developed in all of their relationships, the long nights where Woojin would cry into his chest, Changbin was done. He was done with this whole thing. He was done keeping secrets that were causing both of them to hurt. He was done with the constant bickering that would put everyone on edge. 

Changbin. Was.  _ Done. _

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” 

The outburst would have been expected from Jisung, the overly emotional young man never being afraid to show his outrage if something ever upset him but to hear Changbin downright scream obscenities at the Werewolf was something that apparently neither of the young men expected when they both jumped and gawked at Changbin, uncertain how they should respond to the anger that was currently directed at Chan.

“Are you actually being petty right now? Are you seriously not going to track him down because you’re still upset that he dumped you?!” 

“Binnie…” Jisung whispered, figuring that, if that was the reason that Chan was being reluctant, then speaking to him like that wouldn’t help their cause. 

But they were already after wasting enough time and if Woojin really did need them, then this pissing about while trying to convince Chan to help them was using up whatever little time they had left and it was riling Changbin up. 

“Fuck it. Screw my promise about keeping silent on this. I don’t care what he does to me. You want to know the reason that Wooj ended things with you? The real reason?”   


“I already know the reason, Bin. He didn’t love me anymore,” Chan reasoned, keeping his tone calm, even when it looked like he wanted to lash out at his friend for making his pain seem inconsequential. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! You think that’s the real reason? The only thing you know is the excuse he made up, the one to protect all of us. You believed what he said without putting up a proper fight, without trying to find out what actually happened. Did it not occur to you that it was weird, how much he loved you one day and was completely vulgar towards you the next? It didn’t enter your boorish wolf brain to try and figure out the cause of that?!”   


Changbin was being unfair and he knew it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Chan had probably been awake at night for weeks, trying to figure out what had happened, what had caused everything to turn on its head, what had taken the love of his life away from him but after hearing that Woojin didn’t love him anymore from the Shadowhunter’s own mouth, Changbin knew that it had probably broken Chan’s trust. Not only him but the wolf inside of him too, the one that thought it had found its mate without a shadow of a doubt and for that to be ripped away from him must have been like a shot through the heart. 

Changbin knew. Still, after all of the times he had to try and hold the pieces of Woojin together, the young man barely keeping his sanity because of all of this, Changbin couldn’t help but want to blame Chan just that little bit for not being able to see that Woojin had been hurting just as much as he had been. 

“You knew why Wooj ended it with Chan? How could you not tell me?” Jisung asked, looking a little betrayed that his  _ Parabatai  _ hadn’t let him know when he had been so worried about Woojin this whole time too. However, Jisung let the disappointment slide when he picked up on another point that Changbin had mentioned. “Wait, what do you mean ‘to protect all of us?’”   


Changbin allowed himself to breathe for a moment, never breaking eye contact with Chan who, despite not opening his mouth again, seemed to be asking the exact same question. 

“I know why he ended it and I’m tired of keeping it a secret.”    


* * *

This had been a bad idea. 

Hyunjin had warned him but Seungmin had been so caught up in trying to prove himself, to make sure no innocent bystanders got hurt, that he had been too stubborn to listen. As he entered the back alley where he had seen the monster slither off to, Seungmin remembered that Hyunjin had said it was a Behemoth demon, one that the Shadowhunter hadn’t come across before in his studies but he assumed that it was to be put down the same way all of the others were; a seraph blade straight through its skull would surely work wonders. 

Unbuckling the blade from his belt when he realised he had cornered the demon at the end of the alley, Seungmin stood tall, trying to look intimidating but he figured that it wouldn’t make any difference to a mindless beast like a lesser demon such as itself. All that mattered was that he exterminated it as quickly as possible. It was truly grotesque, the atrocious stench making Seungmin try to turn his head away from the wafts of it reaching him. The rows of teeth made Seungmin write a mental note to himself that he should definitely not get within range of those things because from the black venom slipping from its mouth, he would most surely meet his untimely end were he to be bitten by them. He had survived being poisoned by a demon once but he didn’t think that fate would be so kind as to save him from it a second time. 

Wanting to get this over as quickly as possible and get back to Jeongin before he returned, Seungmin tightened his grip around the blade, ready to attack but was halted before he got very far by a grip around his arm. 

“Minnie! I told you not to attack this thing. It’s a powerful demon that needs more than two of us to dispose of it,” Hyunjin snapped, probably the first time that Seungmin had ever heard him use such a tone and it most certainly had never been directed at him. 

“We can do it, Hyunjin. The two of us are a good team.”

“Seungmin, not only have we never been in a fight together before but I also haven’t fed in nearly two days. I’m in no condition to do something like this. I won’t be as fast or as strong as I would usually be and if I get injured, it will take more energy than I have to heal myself. It could be dangerous for me and for you too. This is not the right time to-”

While Hyunjin tried to list out why this was one of Seungmin’s worst ideas, the demon seemed to register their lack of attention on it, taking its chance to strike and knock them both off guard. 

Though he may not have been in top condition, Hyunjin’s perception of everything around him was still functioning better than any human’s and when he saw the gigantic demon hunch down a little, he just barely managed to push Seungmin away from him before the demon lunged towards where they would have been standing, probably crushing them both in the process before going for their throats to end it all. 

Catching himself before he could fall to the ground, Seungmin quickly regained his composure, warning himself not to lose sight of his enemy like that again; it had been such a rookie mistake. It seemed like despite Hyunjin’s protests, they had no choice but to fight the Behemoth demon since it looked like it had no intention of letting them leave now that it had its eyes set on a lovely meal. 

“Hyunjin, are you alright?” Seungmin shouted to reach his boyfriend being blocked out by the demon, hating that they were being separated right now. 

“Fine, Minnie. Just fine.”

It certainly didn’t sound like it. Even without the slight hint of annoyance in his voice, Hyunjin almost sounded out of breath, which couldn’t be the case since he didn’t breathe but it was like he was struggling to find his words and that’s when Seungmin realised just how much not feeding for a couple of days would have on a Vampire being thrown into the middle of a brawl. 

The demon obviously became tired of being ignored, turning around to face Seungmin and move at a surprisingly fast pace for a monster of its size. Ducking and rolling to the side, Seungmin barely managed to dodge the demon once again, silently thanking Changbin for teaching him so many evasive maneuvers. Without hesitation, Seungmin jumped behind the demon and slashed down its spine, shrinking back when it let out such a violently anguished scream before stalling and plummeting to the ground. 

Seungmin knew he was right, that they could dispose of a demon like this and be back to collect Jeongin in a few minutes. How could Hyunjin have doubted his skill like that? Not very loyal in his beliefs that Seungmin could do anything. Sheathing the blade, Seungmin proudly turned to Hyunjin, the Vampire still in a fighting stance, despite the demon being dealt with. 

“You can relax now, Hyunjin. It’s dead,” Seungmin huffed, knowing his boyfriend was probably still a little irked that he hadn’t listened to him in the first place. 

“If you eradicate a demon, it disintegrates, Seungmin. That thing is still in one piece. It’s just gathering energy to come back. Come on, we’ve got to-”

The second time Hyunjin had been interrupted was by another loud roar but this time, it was not one of pain but of fury and Seungmin wasn’t as lucky to evade the monster’s second attack, feeling a knock to his gut before he went flying backwards and crashed into a cluster of trash cans, twisting his arm uncomfortably in the process. 

“Seungmin!” 

The demon definitely hadn’t been that fast before but when Seungmin managed to raise his head, he noticed that it was only about half the size it had previously been, like it had shed a layer of skin to gain this newfound speed. 

And finally, Seungmin understood what Hyunjin had said earlier. This thing would just keep regenerating for as long as it could, wasting its energy in the form of molting some of its body weight but gaining accuracy and evasion skills because of it. They would have to keep destroying its body until it could no longer reconstruct itself due to lack of stamina but Seungmin wondered which one of them would be depleted of it first. 

As he fought with Hyunjin, both of them putting all of their efforts into letting Seungmin pierce it with his blade to try and keep it from rejuvenating again, Seungmin realised that the time in between reviving itself was getting shorter, meaning that it was near the end of its cycle.    


But so were they. 

Hyunjin was at the stage where his legs were beginning to feel like jelly, the lack of blood in his system making him lose his sense of clarity on what he was supposed to be doing. Seungmin was not faring any better, cuts and bruises littering his skin, wondering if he had dislocated his shoulder the first time the demon had disposed of him into the trash cans. They were so close and Seungmin knew that if he could just manage to strike the beast one more time, they could end it for good. 

Seeing Hyunjin get flung to the side with far too much strength, thankful that he knew the Vampire couldn’t die from a mere beating like this but knowing it would hurt all the same, Seungmin took advantage of the beast’s attention being drawn away, running up behind it with his blade above his head, ready to plunge it into the demon’s skull. 

However, the miniscule amount of energy he had left floating around his body was overshadowed by the demon’s, the monster slipping out of the way and turning to knock the redhead to the ground. It was only when Seungmin felt something wet slip past his ear that he realised he must have scraped it off of the gravel upon his descent, wincing as the blood trickled down to his eyes and began to obscure his vision. Only for a growl erupted from the beast's throat, Seungmin would never have noticed that it had begun moving at a tremendous speed towards him, not wanting its prey to escape this time. And while Seungmin was begging his arms to move, the sight of the demon running at him with the intention of ending his life seemed to evoke something within his mind, a memory, a nightmare. 

_ “You should have stayed at home with the others, Seungmin. It’s a shame you will have to die here along with your parents. Such a terrible waste to lose a life so young.” _

A voice ringing in his head, one he knew he had heard before, one that he couldn’t forget if he tried. A shadowy figure was all that his mind provided to him before demons started to swarm around his small body, a primal sense of fear clawing its way up from the depths of his consciousness. It had happened before. Ten years ago. Demons had attacked him. He was going to die. He had escaped once. He was not going to escape again. 

Clamping his hands around his head, Seungmin begged for the memories to stop, the pain increasing as he heard the snarls of the beasts from his past encasing him. It felt too real, like he was back in that horrific night. The flames, the screaming, the fear, the hooded figures... 

Seungmin’s eyes snapped open just in time for him to see the Behemoth about a meter away from him, chattering teeth on full display, jaw wedged open in the hopes of ending the Shadowhunter’s life and Seungmin knew that there was absolutely no way that he could stop it. 

And only for a Vampire’s quick reflexes, Seungmin was sure that this dirty back alley would have been his final resting place. Still, he would have nearly preferred that to be the case when he saw Hyunjin jump into the beast’s path, not letting it anywhere near his injured boyfriend, instead, taking the demon’s attack himself and watching it sink its teeth into the Vampire’s shoulder. 

“Hyunjin!”

Unlike himself, Seungmin knew that the demon’s venom wouldn’t kill Hyunjin but the sharp rows of teeth currently latched onto his arm would be terrifyingly painful for him, Seungmin’s suspicions being confirmed when Hyunjin screamed into the open air and if Seungmin could help it, he never,  _ ever  _ wanted to hear Hyunjin yell like that again. 

Finally, regaining his rationality, Seungmin hopped up and reached for his blade where it had been thrown across the ground after the demon had attacked. The beast didn’t seem to realise that Hyunjin was a Vampire though, not letting go of its prey and waiting for its poison to take effect and kill him. Since it was holding itself in place, Seungmin grabbed his blade in his hand, ran towards the preoccupied Behemoth and sunk his blade into the demon’s head with as much force as he could muster, breathing heavily with relief when it let go of Hyunjin, roaring loudly before it began to turn to dust, finally letting them know that they had won. 

Being free of the demon’s jaw, Hyunjin crumpled to the ground with a whimper, the large holes on his shoulder beginning to close up as the Vampire’s regeneration capabilities began to kick in but it was slow, copious amounts of blood flowing from the wound in the process and staining the Vampire’s shirt. 

Seungmin raised himself from his knees after he had collapsed with relief, dragging himself over to Hyunjin, being more than a little concerned when his boyfriend began mumbling under his breath, head bowed low as continuous soft moans slipped into his words as he began to writhe on the filthy concrete. 

“Hyunjin? Why did you do that? Oh, god, this is my fault. Talk to me, please,” Seungmin gulped, almost afraid to touch the Vampire seeing as he was apparently in so much pain. Still, he laid a hand on his tense shoulders, trying to get the elder to raise his head to check what it was that was causing him so much distress. 

That was when Seungmin realised that he had fucked up more than he ever thought possible. Hyunjin had gone completely rigid, hands grabbing Seungmin’s thighs in a painful grasp as he finally let out a soft groan and raised his eyes towards Seungmin but didn’t look at his face. Rather, his attention was drawn to the side of the younger’s neck where the continuous steady flow of blood that originated from the gash on the back of his head was beginning to pool by his shoulder. 

Hyunjin had been in control of his bloodlust for years, that was what he had told Seungmin, that he only drank animal blood as of now since it was forbidden by the Clave to drink straight from a human. But when Seungmin was pushed down onto his back, hands pinned down beside his head as Hyunjin sat on his stomach, he saw that the crimson light that overtook the Vampire’s eyes, the one that told him that Hyunjin could not hold himself back any longer. 

He had used up too much of his energy trying to heal himself from such a ghastly wound. The primitive part of his brain told him that he needed to replenish that strength or he would starve and wither. He didn’t know who Seungmin was anymore, just another source of a meal for the Vampire. 

Seungmin knew that Hyunjin would never hurt him on purpose if he was in his right mind; he was always adamant that he would never drink from any human ever again if he could help it. It had always made him feel like nothing more than a mindless beast. Human blood was a lot more addictive than animal blood and once you got the taste for it, it was exceedingly hard to kick the habit of wanting it but Hyunjin was too far gone at this stage, his thoughts filled with nothing but the delectable smell of Seungmin’s fresh blood. 

Feeling Hyunjin pressing his nose into his neck to inhale his scent, Seungmin felt himself go stiff with fear. Right now, this wasn’t his Hyunjin, this was a thoughtless Vampire who couldn’t care less if he sucked every drop of blood out of his body. Unlike the stuff of legends, Seungmin wouldn’t be turned straight away if Hyunjin were to bite him but if the venom that Vampire’s produced to make their prey become more lax as they drank from them overcame the amount of blood in his body and Hyunjin left him in the alleyway to die after he had finished with him, Seungmin would be forced to turn and as much as he had no problem with Vampires, he himself had no desire to become one. Not now, not ever. It would take time for Hyunjin to drink that much blood but with the hunger in his eyes at the moment, Seungmin had an idea that he would have no control over how much he would take from him. 

The taste of bile began to sting the back of his throat, his fear overcoming every other emotion and as much as he tried to struggle against Hyunjin’s body holding him down but when the elder used his enhanced strength as a Vampire, even when he was hungry, Seungmin’s seemed absolutely pathetic in comparison. 

Seungmin’s fear was almost palpable. His fear of pain. His fear of dying. His fear of Hyunjin. 

“Hyunjin! Wait, please don’t. Please, love, don’t bite me. This isn’t you, I know you’re stronger than this. I know you don’t want to feed off of a human, especially not me. Please, Hyunjinnie, come back to me,” Seungmin sobbed, feeling his tears mix with the blood along his neck, knowing neither of them truly wanted this.

“Need it,” Hyunjin slurred, inching his way towards the juncture of Seungmin’s neck and running his teeth over his fangs. “Too weak…smells perfect…need to feed…”

With one last plea, Seungmin knew it was useless as he felt Hyunjin’s fangs brush across his neck before puncturing the skin, making Seungmin scream louder than he ever had before.

This had all been a very bad idea indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to decide how I should wrap up this chapter and give you some hope but I've got nothing.  
But, finally, after 37 chapters, you're finally getting Woochan's backstory next week! Not gonna lie, the angst doesn't get any better.   
Bye!


	38. Reparation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty. Something a lot of people have been waiting to see. I'm nearly anxious about putting this up but hope you'll enjoy it!

_ Coming back from one of the longest stints on a mission he ever had, Changbin wanted to drag himself straight back to his room but not before giving Jisung a long and revitalising hug, telling him that he had done such a good job while they were in Hongdae together for the last five days.  _

_ The kid looked exhausted and Changbin told him that Yunseok had given them permission to take the next few days off because of their success; a small mercy from a usually cruel man. Still, Changbin wasn’t going to complain about it. He felt like going into a permanent hibernation from the amount of shit they had gone through, trying to reign some members of a Werewolf pack that had gone rogue and had been attacking people who would go to Hongdae for the bustling nightlife.  _

_ They had managed to do it though, arresting all five wolves and handing them over to Clave. Since Werewolves didn’t exactly have a ruling authority, the Praetor Lupus choosing not to get involved in the business of Shadowhunters, it was up to them to try and rehabilitate those under their care and, if not, then they would be forced to be locked away. An unfortunate sentence but it was a price that had to be paid for what they had done.  _

_ Having to report to Yunseok officially since he was the leader of the Institute, Changbin slowly made his way towards the man’s office, dragging his feet as much as he could across the shaggy, red carpet, wanting to prolong having this interaction for as long as possible. It was late, annoyingly so and Changbin wanted to have a conversation with the bastard just as much as he wanted to skydive out of a plane without a parachute. This was going to be tedious and unnecessary, with Changbin knowing that all he was going to get was a few grunts in confirmation that Yunseok was barely listening to him before he was to be dismissed for the night. Still, Changbin would rather report to him now rather than getting eaten alive by Yunseok in the morning for not following protocol.  _

_ Turning the final corner to reach Yunseok’s office, Changbin cleared his throat and was just about to enter before he heard Woojin’s voice coming from the room, the one good thing being that it didn’t seem that he was fighting with his father like they usually would be. Woojin got a hell of a lot of crap from Yunseok, his father always wanting him to work harder most of the time but Woojin was just as able to give back as good as he got when things got to be too much.  _

_ Not knowing if it was something important, Changbin decided to wait until Woojin left so that he wouldn’t be disturbing them. Still, he couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the conversation that was loud and clear, the door just being slightly ajar, with Changbin being able to see the two men without them being aware of his presence.  _

_ “I have some news, Woojin. I will be stepping down as leader of the Institute at the end of the week,” Yunseok stated as he continually worked on some papers that were strewn across his mahogany desk.  _

_ The news surprised not only Woojin, who had a look of confounded disbelief blowing his eyes wide, but Changbin as well, the younger nearly falling against the open door in his astonishment. They would no longer have to work under Yunseok, heed his sometimes ridiculous orders and bow down to his every bothersome whim. This was absolutely fantastic news for practically everybody in the Institute.  _

_ “You are? That’s a shame, Father,” Woojin consoled, in a very convincing manner since Changbin knew that Woojin must be eager to have his father no longer sitting in that position. “May I ask what caused such a decision?”  _

_ “I have been offered a seat on the council. I will be heading to Alicante to take my place in the Clave.”  _

_ Ah, so there was a catch. He wouldn’t just be in charge of the Seoul Institute but would be overseeing practically every Institute around the world instead. For a man that craved power and responsibility, this must have been a dream come true for Yunseok, though maybe a nightmare rearing its head for many others. Still, it would mean that, for most of the year, Yunseok wouldn’t be commanding and inspecting them twenty four seven. A win in Changbin’s eyes.  _

_ “Congratulations, Father. I’m sure you will do a terrific job.”  _

_ Woojin was really playing this whole dutiful son act very well, even if Yunseok must have noticed the change in disposition from how he would normally act.  _

_ “Quite. Still, that leaves the chair of the leader of this Institute vacant and the Clave have come to the decision that you would be the best person to fill it.”  _

_ Changbin really needed to step a bit further away from the door since this was the second time he had nearly fallen through it when he jumped in surprise and in jubilation too. Woojin was going to be their new leader? There could literally not be a better person for the job. He had the trust of practically everybody in the Shadow world. It wasn’t just the Shadowhunters that Woojin had built up a splendid relationship with but since he had grown up with some of the Downworld leaders like Minho and Hyunjin, as well as dating Chan, the leader of the biggest pack in Seoul, he would have such a perfect working relationship since he knew exactly how to deal with all of them. Maybe this day would be better than Changbin first believed.  _

_ “Me? They want me to take over the Institute?” Woojin babbled, a small smile showing that he was probably a little bit excited to take on such a challenge as this.  _

_ “Yes, though I can’t imagine why,” Yunseok sighed. There was the man that Changbin remembered, cold and insulting. “However, this is a very big honour for you, Woojin and as my son, you should not disappoint me. You are not to show me up in front of the Clave by not performing as required. Do not be an embarrassment to this family.”  _

_ Not that he ever would be but Changbin thought that Woojin couldn’t be an embarrassment if he tried. He was as close as anyone could be to being the pinnacle of perfection when it came to being a Shadowhunter. Top of his class in academics, fighting techniques and relations, with the personality of a literal angel, Woojin would do himself proud with this sort of position.  _

_ “I won’t, Father. I’ll have to thank those on the council for this opportunity.” _

_ “Good, now that that’s cleared up, there is one more stipulation that you need to fulfill to secure such a prestigious job.” _

_ Leaning against the doorframe to take the weight off of his wearied feet, Changbin kept thinking about everything that Woojin would probably change when he was given the position. Yunseok had kept a lot of things the way that his predecessor had, a little primitive and outmoded to be honest, something that everyone complained about in one way or another but now, things would most definitely change for the better.  _

_ “Of course. Whatever it is, I’m sure I can do it.” _

_ “End it with that fling of yours.”  _

_ Unless Woojin was in some sort of secret relationship with an unknown person that even Changbin was unaware of, then he had no idea who Yunseok was referring to when he told Woojin to finish with his fling because he most certainly couldn’t have been talking about Chan. Woojin had been seeing him for nearly two years now, had been through so many ups and downs with Chan and their relationship couldn’t be classified as something as inconsequential as a fling. Changbin had never seen two people more made for each other than Woojin and Chan were.  _

_ “Excuse me?” Woojin retaliated, looking like he wanted to cackle at the absurdity that Yunseok had just hit him with.  _

_ “Woojin, I’ve allowed you to have your fun with that man but it’s time for you to be serious. You are to be in the public eye even more now. The Clave will be keeping a record of your activities. You are to stop playing around with him and look for a more suitable companion for the future. Preferably a girl of a high social standing that will produce a pure blooded heir.”  _

_ Wow. Just, wow. There was a hell of a lot wrong with that line of thought in Changbin’s eyes and there was a small voice in his head telling him to kick in the door and tell Yunseok that he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about since he had never spent more than a couple of minutes with Chan if it wasn’t within the meeting room. He held himself back though, knowing that Woojin wouldn’t stand for that kind of talk.  _

_ “Fun? What the hell do you mean fun? Chan is my boyfriend. I love him, more than anyone. This isn’t just ‘fun’ for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.” _

_ Pumping his fist into the air, Changbin nodded vehemently while he silently encouraged Woojin to stand up for his relationship with Chan. Not to brag but Changbin was pretty much their number one supporter, playing a rather big part in making both of them pull their heads out of their asses when they first met, giving Chan the courage to ask Woojin out.  _

_ “Oh, come now, Woojin. You didn’t possibly think that you were going to spend your life with a Downworlder. I only allowed it to carry on for this long so you could get it out of your system.” _

_ “Allowed it?” Woojin laughed, pushing his hair out of his eyes, trying his best to understand how his father thought he would be the one to dictate every aspect of his life for as long as he could. “You do realise that I am an adult who can make my own decisions?” _

_ “Not if you’re going to make a mockery of our family name. Since you are to be head of the Institute, you are not going to be seen with someone like him. Do you understand me?”  _

_ “No, I don’t understand!” Woojin stormed, eyes burning with a hysterical rage.“There’s nothing wrong with Chan, he’s amazing. He’s a terrific leader and a wonderful man. What difference does it make to you who I’m seeing anyways? You won’t be here anymore, it won’t affect you in any way, shape or form!”  _

_ Finally raising his eyes from his work, Yunseok slammed his pen down upon the desk, carefully raising from his seat to look Woojin straight in the eye, the same sort of indignation contorting his face to make him look somewhat manic.  _

_ “It affects me in more ways than you know. I would be a laughing stock if the Clave were aware of your relations with a Werewolf. My son, the new leader of our propitious Institute, running around with a Downworlder like that. It’s already shameful enough for me and your little affair will not bring more humiliation onto this family than it already has!”  _

_ With a small scoff, Woojin shook his head, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. So many times before, he had been degraded in the most hurtful ways and a lot of the time, he would just let his father run his mouth, not bothering to retaliate. This, however, was not something he could hold his tongue on. _

_ “Fine, you know what? If that’s what it takes to get this job, then I don’t want it,” Woojin stated firmly, such tenacity in his resolve that Changbin couldn’t help but feel that he would have been perfect for handling matters whilst under great pressure as leader but in the end, he knew his feelings for Chan were far more prevalent.  _

_ Looking like he was ready to get into a physical fight with Woojin, Yunseok’s nostrils flared at his son’s words. Neither of them were going to back down, it was just a matter of who would break first.  _

_ “You will not turn down something as auspicious as this, Woojin! The Clave do not just hand out this position to anybody. To say no would be a highly disrespectful action,” Yunseok shot back. “Stop this foolish behaviour right now. You will do as you’re told, you will play your part, you will break up with that…dog and you will know your place!”  _

_ It was obvious that Yunseok never liked Chan all that much, which wasn’t a problem because Chan downright hated Yunseok as well. They just never clicked in personalities or ideals and the fact that Yunseok constantly felt the need to put Woojin down didn’t do anything for Chan’s ability to endure the man’s presence in his life.  _

_ Still, for a Shadowhunter, and the leader of an Institute at that, to call him a dog would be seen as highly offensive, to all Werewolves as a whole. It was a demeaning name that showed true contempt for Werewolves but it didn’t seem to be a problem for Yunseok when he called his son’s boyfriend such a thing. However, there seemed to be a big problem for Woojin.  _

_ “How  _ dare _ you speak about him like that! Is that all you see of him? That he is a Werewolf? You make it seem like there is something wrong with being one! You make it sound like he’s some sort of threat to you!”  _

_ “ _ All  _ Downworlders are a threat to us! You are just so blinded by your foolish infatuation that you cannot see that and it will be your downfall, boy,” Yunseok sneered.  _

_ Changbin, as well as others at the Institute, were aware that, much like the Seelie Queen thought that Faeries were better than humans, Yunseok thought that Shadowhunters were above all Downworlders. Not the greatest trait to have when overseeing their laws and that’s why Changbin couldn’t wait until Yunseok was out of their hair but as of now, it didn’t seem like Woojin would be the one to replace him.  _

_ “Chan is the best thing to ever happen to me, he is my other half and a better man than you will ever be. I will not lose him just because you want our family to be seen as more dominating, of a higher caliber, just so you can have validity for your imperiousness. I will not!”  _

_ And to be honest, Changbin fully expected Yunseok to completely snap at his son’s bold defiance, his disrespectful tone of voice, not that Yunseok deserved Woojin’s respect in this matter.  _

_ But he didn’t. Which was more than a little strange since Yunseok was the type to blow a fuse if even the smallest thing displeased him. Instead, he huffed quietly and returned to his seat, picking up his pen once again and continued to fill out the numerous forms that covered his desk.  _

_ “That…is indeed a shame. If that’s the way you feel, then so be it. It’s too bad that Chan’s pack will have to suffer for it though.” _

_ With ice coating the man’s words, Changbin unintentionally flinched at the coldness in Yunseok’s tone. If he was trying to veil his attempt at intimidation, he wasn’t doing a very good job at it but Changbin got the feeling that Yunseok wanted Woojin to know exactly what he was trying to get at.  _

_ “I’m sorry? What the hell does that mean?”  _

_ “Nothing, Woojin. It’s just that, sometimes, terribly atrocious things can happen when people least expect it. I mean, what if his pack were accidentally caught up in something dangerous? In our world, appalling things happen to Downworlders all the time. It would be awful if his entire pack was to be wiped out, don’t you think?” _

_ “Are you threatening me?” Woojin whispered disbelievingly.  _

_ “Only if you disobey me, Woojin. If you do not do as I say, I will make sure that every single wolf in that house of his is slaughtered.” _

_ Changbin felt like he shouldn’t be listening to this, more so because it was actually making him want to be sick from the total lack of empathy in Yunseok’s voice. This wasn’t a silly, little attempt at blackmail that Yunseok wouldn’t carry through just to scare Woojin. No, it was a full fledged promise. _

_ “You wouldn’t…those people are innocent! Chan has kids there, pups…you can’t do something like that!” _

_ “I can do whatever I like, Woojin, especially now that I am part of the Clave,” Yunseok ensured, rounding the table and coming to stand straight in front of Woojin, face mere centimeters away from his son’s, with Woojin visibly trembling at the thought of all of those people being hurt. “This is your first and final warning. If you do not end it with that dog by the end of the week, I will order my men to go to that house, lock each and every one of those things inside and set it ablaze. And you, my boy, will have to live with the fact that you could have saved them all if you had just listened to me.”  _

_ Changbin needed to tell someone about this. People needed to know. He couldn’t let Yunseok get away with even thinking about something so atrocious. Someone in such a position of power, having thoughts about murdering innocent people to get his own way, to make him seem more powerful in the eyes of those around him was corrupt, shameless and downright malevolent.  _

_ It was evil.  _

_ “How could you even think of doing something like that to all of those people?” Woojin rasped, the tears that had gathered in his eyes clinging to his eyelashes before falling down his cheeks. “The Clave would never allow you to get away with doing something like that!”  _

_ “They will if they get a report that Chan has been planning a coup against us. It would have been in the works for months and he was just about ready to attack us but we just got there in time to stop him. Unfortunately, he would not surrender, ordered his pack to attack us and to protect ourselves, we had to put them all down. Luckily, you found out about his intentions and reported back to me. It would all be thanks to you.”  _

_ It was all planned out. Yunseok had been ready for the possibility of Woojin saying no to him, meaning he must be aware of how much he actually cared for Chan. This was too precise and calculating for Yunseok not to have prepared beforehand. In the end, if something did happen to Chan and his pack, Yunseok would make sure that everyone thought it had been Woojin who had ratted them out, leading to their untimely demise.  _

_ “You’re a monster,” Woojin shuddered, taking a step back from his father in genuine disgust.  _

_ “This is all business, Woojin. You will send a fire message to the Clave and accept their offer. Also, you are not to breathe a word of this to anyone. I don’t need Werewolves starting a war with us because of your childish desires.”  _

_ Even through all his pompous gloating, the idea of something like the wolves rising up against him obviously made Yunseok wary enough to make sure that Woojin wouldn’t say anything that could get him into trouble.  _

_ Changbin understood. Yunseok looked down upon Downworlders because he thought they were lesser than he was with his angelic blood but there was something else, something that became quite clear as he warned his son of that particular outcome.  _

_ He was scared of them. Or, more accurately, he was scared of what they could do. Despite working with them and somewhat peaceful cooperation between the two sides, not everything about Downworlders was known to Shadowhunters, especially not what made them tick. Secrets were kept between the Downworlder groups that Shadowhunters weren’t privy to and that seemed to terrorise Yunseok’s thoughts.  _

_ “And what will you do if I tell Chan? What’s stopping me from going to him right now and destroying all of your plans?” Woojin dared, Changbin knowing full well that Woojin was just as likely to follow through on his threats as his father was.  _

_ “You’re a relatively smart boy, Woojin and you must know that I have many allies within the Clave, relationships that I’ve built up over the years. Should they see fit, if I were to ask, they could reassign so many of your friends to different Institute’s around the world.” _

_ That made whatever hopeful light that was within Woojin’s eyes shatter and disperse. Changbin was aware that he was being referred to in this particular instance because as much as Woojin cared about Chan, Changbin knew that both he and Jisung were the two people that needed to be protected at all costs in Woojin’s eyes. That was his job as their big brother, to keep the two of them safe and if Yunseok threatened their security by dragging them away from him and placing them wherever he saw fit, it would absolutely tear Woojin apart.  _

_ “How would Changbin feel about being relocated to the New York Institute? I hear they’re having terrible trouble over there lately. A lot of demon and rogue Downworlder attacks. They’ve lost a lot of experienced fighters in the clean up attempts. Who knows if he would be safe? And Jisung? Do you think that he would enjoy working under me in Alicante? But people aren’t entirely free from harm in the capital either. It would be awful if something happened to him and you weren’t there when he called for you.”  _

_ Crescent indentations in the wood of Yunseok’s door frame would remain as an eternal reminder of how Changbin was desperately trying to hold himself back for Woojin’s sake. It wouldn’t make any difference if he were to storm in there now, knowing that he wouldn’t be the one to suffer for it. Running to tell someone wasn’t a viable option either because Changbin knew, as of now, his report would not be backed by Woojin. When Yunseok had the fate of his friends in the palm of his hands, Woojin wouldn’t say a bad word against his father, for fear of him prematurely carrying out his promise. Still, when Yunseok was constantly threatening Woojin, Chan and now Jisung too, it was a monumental task for Changbin to stay quiet.  _

_ “You will end it and you will mean it. You will break his heart so that he will have no intention of wanting to get back with you. You know not to question how serious I am about this, Woojin. No son of mine will be seen with a Downworlder. You will finish it. That is final.”  _

_ And it was, because Changbin knew that there was no way Woojin would put him, Jisung, Chan or the wolf’s pack in any danger if he could help it. And he could. If he heeded Yunseok’s word, then he could save all of them from a possibly fatal fate. Changbin wanted to tell him that they would be alright, that they would figure a way out of this but he knew that Woojin wouldn’t listen. The decision had already been made.  _

_ “Hopefully, I have made my feelings on the matter clear and as long as I am in Alicante, this promise still stands, Woojin,” Yunseok grinned, seemingly in much better spirits now that his son was no longer talking back to him, letting him know that he had won their verbal sparring match. “You will uphold the honour of this family. You will not let me down. You will not show us up. You will act accordingly to how I see fit. Do you understand?”  _

_ The same question asked again but this time, whatever fight Woojin had in his body the first time around had completely dissipated, just a hollow shell of a man staring back at his father and Changbin wanted to scream at Woojin to retaliate, to challenge his no good father and tell him where to go. But it never happened.  _

_ “Yes, Father. I understand,” Woojin responded carefully, the dried tear streaks down his face being the only evidence that the young man had ever been capable of emotion.  _

_ “Finally. If only you had been this obliging from the start. Caring about people makes you weak, Woojin and you have proved it with how easy you were to tame. In any case, respond to the Clave as soon as possible and remember to thank them. You are dismissed,” Yunseok affirmed with a quick wave of his hand and as Woojin soullessly reached the door, Yunseok called out to him once more. “And remember, Woojin: not a word to anyone.”  _

_ Realising that he would be seen by Yunseok if Woojin opened the door now, Changbin straightened himself up and turned the closest corner to shroud himself. He managed to, just in time for Woojin to exit the office and retreat down the hall towards his room. Changbin was debating on whether to let the elder know about the fact that he had overheard everything or if he should keep silent on the matter for now but when Woojin halted to grab onto the wall before his legs gave way, Changbin knew that keeping his presence hidden was no longer an option.  _

_ Emerging from the shadows, Changbin quietly walked to Woojin’s side so as not to scare him and gently placed his hand upon the crumpled young man’s shoulder, still making Woojin jump since he had no doubt been so trapped within his own head that he hadn’t realised Changbin was there.  _

_ When Changbin didn’t ask why Woojin was in such a state and the elder could see the look of pure pity situated upon his face, he already knew that Changbin was aware of what had transpired.  _

_ “You heard?” Woojin blubbered, the tears that had made an earlier appearance coming back full force now that he was out of his father’s clutches.  _

_ “Yeah, Wooj, I heard.” _

_ “What am I supposed to do, Bin? Something like this, I’m not strong enough to oppose him, not when he can hurt you guys.”  _

_ “You can’t let him get away with this, Wooj,” Changbin tried, even though he was already aware of what Woojin would say.  _

_ “What do you expect me to do? Even when he’s not in the Clave, you know damn well what my father is capable of. I can’t let something happen to Chan’s family. I can’t let them get hurt just to keep up my relationship with him, Even if my father’s plan was discovered, he would still find a way to make it happen, just to show that he never breaks a promise,” Woojin reasoned, letting the tears fall but trying to keep his voice low at the same time since he more than likely didn’t want to give his father the pleasure of realising he had broken him. “But I don’t want to hurt Chan either.”  _

_ Sliding down to the floor beside his brother, Changbin tried to look into the elder’s eyes, not being able to do so since they were firmly situated on his trembling fingers.  _

_ “Then tell him about all of this.”  _

_ Apparently, not an option either as Woojin’s head finally shot up as he latched onto Changbin’s biceps.  _

_ “No! Then you and Sungie will…no, I can’t tell him with the risk of the two of you being…” _

_ Nothing would be able to change Woojin’s mind about keeping the two of them safe and just as Changbin began to think of a loophole, Woojin had already seen through it, a disapproving frown supposedly trying to make him seem vicious but not doing a very good job.  _

_ “And you are not to tell him either, Bin. I’m not going to put any of you at risk. I can’t lose the two of you…”  _

_ “Wooj…” _

_ “Promise me, Bin. This stays a secret between the two of us, no matter what I decide to do. I’ll figure something out,” Woojin urged, pretending that he hadn’t already planned on the outcome of this tale already. “Promise me.”  _

_ It would be absolutely no use to try and fight Woojin in this present moment and time, not when he was in such a vulnerable headspace. For now, Changbin would agree and hopefully, he would be able to figure out something before the end of the week.  _

_ It wouldn’t pan out that way though since he wouldn’t realise until after the fact that Woojin hadn’t decided to wait until the end of the week to break up with Chan, doing it a couple of days later before Changbin could stop him.  _

_ And as time went on, Yunseok continued to remind Woojin of his threat as often as he could. Changbin wanted nothing more than to let Chan know of what had transpired but he knew that Woojin was right, that Yunseok would no doubt find a way to make the wolf’s pack suffer even if he wasn’t the one to do it. And even without a care about his own wellbeing, Jisung and the other members of the Institute were still at risk and Changbin didn’t want to play that deadly game. So, he kept silent, even when he saw the damage it had done to Woojin’s relationship with Chan, how the secret battered Woojin in every way possible, how it gave Yunseok more and more power over his son with each passing day. Changbin was caught between a rock and a hard place, especially when he had absolutely no proof about what had happened. From Changbin’s viewpoint, there was no positive outcome that he could see. Someone would end up suffering because of it.  _

_ And he thought that he would just have to grin and bear it. _

_ But now? Enough was enough.  _

* * *

“So, you think he stopped loving you? He broke up with you because he didn’t want to see you or your pack get murdered by his psychopathic father! He kept quiet about everything so that Sungie and I would be safe! He didn’t let you know about the agonising pain he was going through every day because that son of a bitch threatened everyone he cared about! You say that you knew but you didn’t know  _ anything!  _ I am the one who had to hold him while he cried into my chest at night. I am the one who had to try and put him back together after you would treat him like he was a monster for ending everything.  _ I  _ was the one who had to carry this burdensome, fucking secret because Woojin was too damn stubborn to report what had happened and I was was too much of a coward to say anything since I was absolutely terrified of what Yunseok was capable of doing to my friends!”

Reliving the entire experience hurt Changbin more than he ever thought possible, remembering the night that had changed Woojin, turned him into a subservient tool for his father to use. The weeks following hadn’t been any kinder to him, being inducted as leader and knowing exactly what it was he had to give up to be in such a position. 

The tears cascading their way down Jisung’s cheeks showed that the young man never even imagined what it was that his brothers had gone through, being protected by both of them so that he could remain blissfully oblivious to what had gone on behind closed doors. 

Still, Chan remained silent, eyes perhaps a little bit wider than before but nothing on his face to say how he felt about the situation. 

“Did you know that Yunseok started hitting him too? That Wooj constantly tries to hide the bruises and cuts after Yunseok beats the shit out of him? And why can’t he fight back? Because of us. He did all of this for us. He gave up his happiness for…us,” Changbin cried, his voice cracking under the weight of his veiled emotions.

Under the flickering street light, three young men stood, involved in a situation that none of them knew a way out of. It was finally out in the open now, everything that had been concealed for the last seven months and Changbin couldn’t care less if he was in more danger now. He would fight for his family, for his position and he would make sure that Yunseok paid for all of the pain he had put them through. 

“Wooj went through all of that? Yunseok…that sick bastard,” Jisung snarled, worrying even more because of his missing brother now. 

And that’s when they heard a sound that held so much anger, a predatory and guttural growl that made them want to cower into submission. When Changbin finally managed to wipe away the tears blurring his vision, he saw Chan, eyes blazing red, fangs, ears and tail having sprouted in his obvious rage, claws dragging against his jeans and ripping the fabric. As much as they trusted Chan, Changbin wasn’t sure how much he trusted his alpha, which had obviously taken over after hearing the news and dragged Jisung back towards his chest to keep him out of range of any possible attacks. 

“I’ll kill him. I’m going to rip out his throat and let him bleed out. Threatening my family. My pups. My friends. My…mate…”

It seemed like Chan had given up complete control to his alpha, no rational thoughts going through his head on how to act other than seeking revenge for the unknown danger that his pack had been put in by a man that had taken an oath to protect his kind. He was so close to fully shifting and bolting to the Institute and making good on his promise to kill Yunseok on sight but it was a soft touch to his cheek that parted the clouds in his mind, allowing him to push his alpha aside and regain some authority. 

“Chan,” Jisung comforted, continually stroking the wolf’s jaw to try and calm him. “Listen to me, I’m not going to tell you let this go. Hell, if you want to kill Yunseok, I’ll be right there beside you to help you hide the body.” 

Jisung chuckled a little but Changbin knew that it was just another way in which the younger was trying to stamp out any lingering rage that Chan couldn’t control since the wolf had always said he loved it when Jisung would laugh. 

“But right now, Woojin is missing and we need you to find him. You know his scent. I’m worried something has happened and you can locate him better than any of us ever could. Can you do that? Please, Chan.” 

Jisung had a way of convincing people, that was how he always got his way but it seemed like it didn’t work this time as Chan lowered his head before completely turning his back on the younger. Jisung gave Changbin a terrified pout, wondering why it was that Chan wouldn’t help them, even after hearing about how Woojin never stopped loving him but before either of them could try to plead again, the wolf from before came bounding towards them, stopping straight in front of Chan. 

“What’s up, Chan? You sounded stressed. You smell like it too,” the young man questioned, the apparent worry for his alpha making his eyes widen. 

“Wonsik, I want you to go into this restaurant and I want you to call one of the others out on duty. You are to wait here until they come to pick you up and you can continue the patrol with them. You will not leave on your own and if I find out that you did, I won’t hesitate to kick you out on your ass. Do you understand?” 

“Yes, alpha, I understand,” Wonisk replied and it was clear that he had no intention of asking Chan where he was going. He could already tell from his tone of voice that he was not to inquire. 

Once Wonsik had disappeared into the building, Chan finally turned back to his friends, dragging his hand across his face and doing nothing to repress another irritated growl. 

“I’ll be able to track him better if I shift. Do you think that the two of you can keep up with me?” 

Not knowing if they could but at least willing to try, both Changbin and Jisung nodded hastily, just wanting to finally go after Woojin. The three ran to a side alley, letting Chan remove his jacket and give it to Jisung who would place it in the wolf’s bag. Wonsik had apparently brought it for him from the house since there was a possibility that they would need to shift at some point. 

“Just so you two know, even though I’ve agreed to help you, it doesn’t mean that I’m ok with the way Woojin handled this,” Chan huffed, dragging his shirt off over his head and tossing it back to the younger Shadowhunter. “I know he wanted to keep everyone safe but he should have…he could have trusted me with…” 

Chan was obviously fighting a serious internal struggle about how he was supposed to feel about all this and Changbin knew it would take time to deal with this. It had taken him a lot of time too. 

“You know why he didn’t say something, Chan,” Changbin reasoned, the Werewolf stopping for a second to stare at the raven haired young man who had just given him quite a stern talking to and that was putting it nicely. 

“You’re right. I know if Woojin thought you were in danger, he would do anything to prevent it, even if it was stupid. I know and I’m sorry you had to keep it from everyone, Bin.” 

Changbin gave no reply, even though he knew that Chan wasn’t really the one at fault but he was still angry that he hadn’t been more persistent when this whole thing had gone down. Maybe if he had been, then Woojin would have eventually cracked and spilled everything. Still, it was all in the past now and this was the time where they could set things right. 

Once Jisung had procured all of Chan’s clothing and placed the backpack on his shoulders, they let Chan hunch down, morphing into the gigantic silver wolf with golden chains around his ears. Though they wouldn’t be able to talk directly with him, both Jisung and Changbin pretty much knew what Chan would try to communicate with them. 

The wolf wasted no time in placing his snout to the ground, giving a few experimental sniffs before raising his head towards the moon. Chan’s eyes suddenly snapped wide open, his irises a striking red, a sign to show that the alpha had managed to obtain Woojin’s scent. With a nod towards his friends, Chan began to bound off into the street, thankful that it seemed to have gotten to the point where there was practically nobody in the area to see a large wolf passing by. 

In the shadow of his pawprints, Jisung and Changbin took off after the wolf, doing their damn best to keep up with him. Even though a whole can of worms had been spilled onto the floor with Changbin’s outburst, at least things began to make more sense. They hoped that they would find Woojin quickly and that this whole mess with Chan could be sorted out, that they could reconcile, that they would be able to figure out how to punish Yunseok for what they had put him through. 

Really, more than any of that, they just wanted to find Woojin and make sure he was safe. 

But perhaps that would be nothing more than wishful thinking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You see? Yunseok isn't as bad as you guys thought he was. He's so much worse. I think a lot of people knew he was involved somehow but now you see to what extent.   
And next week, we have the repercussions of Seungjin's actions and Chan and Binsung searching for Wooj. I'll see you then!


	39. Execrable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Hope you guys are doing well and staying safe.   
Just a teeny tiny warning for this chapter in that it gets a little descriptive in the latter half. Nothing too bad but I just said I'd warn you. And with that hint, I'll leave you guys to it.

Seungmin had always been aware of how Vampires had been perceived by the general Mundane population. Terrifying hooded monsters with billowing cloaks that lived in castles upon shadowy hilltops, lightning striking the tops of the tall towers, nobody daring to venture into the monster’s nest for fear of what would become of them. They would burst into flames should they come into contact with the sun, were repelled by the mere smell of garlic, lured helpless victims to their deaths and held no sense of humanity within themselves. 

This, of course, was all based on fairy tales since Vampires weren’t real in the Mundane world. Seungmin had very quickly came to find out that they were, in fact, not just a character from legend but he had also come to realise that the majority of what he knew about them was entirely fictitious.

Hyunjin was just like him in a lot of ways, perhaps bar the blood drinking with the side benefit of eternal life. Still, he had more humanity within him than a lot of people that Seungmin had known in his twenty two years of life and despite the jokes that were always made, Seungmin knew that Hyunjin had a soul, one so bright and astoundingly beautiful that none could rival it in his eyes. 

And he still believed that, despite the situation he had been placed in. 

All in all, it was a lot different than he had expected. Of course, when Hyunjin had sunk his fangs into his neck at first, the pain was unlike anything he ever remembered feeling before. It stung, it burned, having something so foreign invading his body against his will that it made all of his senses go on high alert, enough for a scream filled with terror to empty from his mouth. And he struggled, as much as he could considering his wounds and the minuscule amount of strength in his body but it made absolutely no difference to Hyunjin as he held him down and slowly began to move his lips against Seungmin’s neck to start the flow of blood. 

“Hyunjin…please…” Seungmin begged in one last futile attempt to try and rid his boyfriend of the unsolicited and ravenous need to drink any amount of blood he could get. 

As Hyunjin tightened his grip around Seungmin’s wrists and continued his ministrations, that’s when Seungmin began to feel something different, realising that Hyunjin’s venom was starting to do its job, making his mind feel a little hazy, his head filled with nothing but a voice telling him that he should submit, cease his struggling, that it was no use and that he should just let himself be used by one of the people he cared about the most but if he did that at this rate, Hyunjin seemingly wouldn’t hesitate to keep going until there was nothing left of him. 

Still, there was nothing he could do and it was then that he started to drift into a strange sense of euphoria, a dreamlike calmness shrouding him, not feeling any pain from the fangs still embedded into the side of his neck. It felt like a soft caress, one that Hyunjin had bestowed upon him many a time when they would sit in silence, gentle fingertips tracing every part of his skin that the Vampire could reach, just both of them being stupidly lovestruck while Seungmin would giggle at the sensation. That was what his mind suddenly associated with the situation and in his haze, Seungmin slowly moved his neck to the side to allow Hyunjin to move closer, to dig his fangs in deeper so a stronger flow of blood would slip past his lips. 

Things were becoming more and more overcast in his mind with each passing second and Seungmin wanted to do nothing more than close his eyes. He was drowsy, listless and all he could feel was that tender movement against his neck. Would it matter so much if he were to rest for a few moments? He would surely feel better when he woke up again, so why not just give into the darkness that was slowly urging him to descend into its depths? 

Clenching his fists a little, Seungmin decided to finally let go, to forget about where he was and why he was there, just let the shadows wash him away. 

And that’s what he would have done if the fangs in his throat hadn’t been violently ripped away, so much so that it felt like reality had literally come crashing down on him and crushed him beneath. While the pain would have been enough to smack some sense into him, it was the vicious growling from beside Seungmin that pulled him back to the real world, enough for him to widen his eyes and roll to the side to see what all of the commotion was about. It was then he suddenly remembered what had happened right before he was about to fall asleep. 

Hyunjin had helped him fight the demon, despite knowing that they would suffer greatly if they were to do so and they did. He had been injured because he had tried to protect Seungmin, using up every last bit of his energy to save the person he promised to keep safe and it had been Seungmin’s fault. All of this had been Seungmin’s fault. If he hadn’t insisted on getting rid of the demon, then they wouldn’t have been placed in this mess, Hyunjin wouldn’t have been hurt, he wouldn’t have lost his senses trying to heal himself and he wouldn’t have fed off Seungmin against his will. This was all his fault but Seungmin didn’t think it would look that way to an outsider that hadn’t seen the situation from the start. An outsider like Jeongin. 

The golden wolf stood in front of Seungmin, acting as a barrier between him and the Vampire who had been thrown off of the redhead when Jeongin had realised what was happening, the wolf barreling into him and separating the two. 

“Innie,” Seungmin mumbled, trying to loosen his jaw when the wolf’s name didn’t quite sound like it usually did when he said it, maybe a side effect from loss of blood. 

A small hiss came from in front of the wolf protecting his friend, Hyunjin getting up from his crouched position, looking at Jeongin with a frenzied gaze, seeing as the Werewolf had just interrupted his feeding; a very dangerous thing to do to an injured Vampire. It seemed that even though he had consumed a decent amount of Seungmin’s blood, it hadn’t been enough to break his delirium as he began to stalk forward towards the injured young man. 

Jeongin was there to stop him once again, figuring that if Seungmin hadn’t managed to stop Hyunjin the first time, now that he was suffering from blood loss, he definitely wouldn’t be able to. Lunging forwards, the wolf knocked Hyunjin back onto the ground, swiping his claws across the Vampire’s chest when the elder bared his fangs, his clear thought process being that, if he couldn’t get to Seungmin, then Jeongin would have to do in his place. 

Using his enhanced strength, Hyunjin flipped them over, wasting no time in trying to nip at the wolf’s neck, though from where he was sitting, Seungmin wasn’t sure if it was to consume the pup’s blood or if it was to tear out his throat for cutting his feeding short. It was a game of push and pull, both Hyunjin and Jeongin continuing to fight for dominance while Seungmin lay sprawled helplessly on the sidelines, willing his mind to regain its full competence to end this scuffle. But it seemed like Jeongin was going to himself when he finally managed to get the unruly Vampire onto his back again, pinning his arms down with his paws, immediately going for the jugular to finish this whole thing off. 

“Jeongin! Stop it! Don’t hurt him!”

Stopping mere centimeters from the Vampire’s throat, Jeongin huffed through his nose at Seungmin’s scream, his ears turning towards the injured Shadowhunter to make sure he had heard correctly. Even when he saw the look of panic in the redhead’s eyes, he couldn’t understand why he didn’t want him to kill the Vampire that had so obviously been feeding off of him when he had arrived after making sure Yedam was safe, something forbidden by the Clave, even if Seungmin had allowed it, which he clearly hadn’t. 

Though he wasn’t going to disobey Seungmin’s wishes of not ending the Vampire’s life by tearing off his head, he wasn’t going to leave Hyunjin squirming underneath him, not being able to think of anything but getting back to Seungmin to continue to feed. Unfortunately, if he wanted to look at it that way, Jeongin had never been in a position where he had to break a feral Vampire’s bloodlust, unsure how to bring Hyunjin back to his senses. So, he did the only thing he could think of, trying what it was that wolves did best. Bending down towards the animalistic Vampire, Jeongin once again exposed his fangs, ignoring Seungmin’s screams and let out the most deafening roar, saliva spraying across Hyunjin’s face from the sheer force of it. 

While it had been a long shot, the sound of a murderous Werewolf was apparently enough to break through the fog in Hyunjin’s mind, finally allowing him to really see the scene in front of him for the first time. The red shimmer overtaking the Vampire’s eyes slowly started to disperse, letting both Seungmin and Jeongin know that the bloodlust had finally subsided, his body realising it was no longer in any danger and that the real Hyunjin was back with them. 

“Jeongin?” Hyunjin babbled, obviously confused about why the Werewolf was currently pinning him down, a blank space in his memory causing him to stare frantically at his friends for an explanation. “Wait, what…?”

After Jeongin had released him and jumped back a couple of feet to stand in front of Seungmin again, it was then that Hyunjin saw his boyfriend, battered and beaten, hand curled around his neck hiding some sort of injury from Hyunjin’s view. It scared him since Seungmin hadn’t looked so pale last he remembered but when he began to crawl towards his boyfriend to check on his condition, Jeongin intercepted him from going anywhere near Seungmin with a vicious snap of his teeth at the Vampire’s neck. If the wolf had been protective of his best friend before, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling at the moment; Chan’s want to keep him near all the time making complete sense to him now. 

“Hey, Jeongin, what are you doing?” Hyunjin muttered, still feeling unusually lightheaded. 

He couldn’t quite understand why the wolf was acting so maliciously towards him since he was sure they had put aside their differences earlier on in the day. Feeling blood dribbling out of his mouth from his previous bout with the Behemoth, Hyunjin swiped it away with the back of his hand but as he went to lower it, he noticed the smell. 

Lemon and peppermint with a hint of caramel. His favorite scent in the entire world. Seungmin’s scent. 

The look on Hyunjin’s face told Seungmin that his muddled brain had finally made sense of what had happened in the missing block of his memories, though it seemed like he didn’t want to believe that he was capable of such a thing. 

Eyes filled with unmatched terror and trembling fingers continually tracing his lips, Hyunjin shook his head from side to side, his tangled hair falling in front of his face. 

“No, no, no, I didn’t. Please tell me I didn’t,” the Vampire whispered, wanting someone,  _ anyone _ , to tell him that one of his worst nightmares wasn’t coming to life once again. “Minnie, move your hand.” 

Despite what Hyunjin had just done to him, Seungmin knew in his heart that he hadn’t meant to. His body hadn’t been strong enough to heal itself without his blood and to a starving Vampire, his must have smelled heavenly. Seungmin wouldn’t hold it against him, even if he had been rather scared through it all. He wouldn’t because he loved Hyunjin, something he had yet to say to the Vampire and would do everything in his power to make sure that Hyunjin was cared for. This is why he didn’t want to move his hand to show the fang indentations in his neck, knowing that once Hyunjin saw it, it would no doubt cause the Vampire to spiral into a very dangerous place. 

“Move your hand!” Hyunjin screamed, the harsh sound bouncing off of the walls of the silent alleyway and making Jeongin growl again in warning towards the terrified Vampire.

Knowing what was about to happen, Seungmin gingerly uncurled his fingers, slowly dropping them to the ground with a heavy sigh when Hyunjin gurgled harshly, slapping his hand over his mouth like he was about to be sick when he saw the two red marks that were raised and inflamed, another side effect of the Vampire’s venom. 

“Oh god,” Hyunjin whispered, turning his head away from the sight, despite the fact that the image of his boyfriend in such a state because of him would be ingrained in his memory for as long as he would live. And if the Clave found out about what he had done, that wouldn’t be for much longer. 

Once Seungmin maneuvered himself onto his knees and tried to catch Hyunjin’s eye, he suddenly remembered another little detail about Vampires which differed vastly from humans. When they were pushed to the point of such an emotion that it caused them to weep, it was not water that fell from their eyes. 

“What have I done? I attacked you. I  _ fed  _ off of you,” Hyunjin cried, tears of blood continually streaking his face as he attempted to hold onto a railing beside him to raise to his wobbly feet. “Nothing has changed from back then. No matter how much I thought I had controlled it. I’m still a monster…”

Seungmin could only guess that he was referring to when he had just been turned, when he had desecrated Yuta’s dead body and fed off of him without having any sort of consciousness to stop himself. It had left a deep scar within Hyunjin’s heart and for something similar to happen to him again and with Seungmin, no less, it would undoubtedly pummel Hyunjin’s mentality until he could no longer come back from it.

Even though it didn’t look like Jeongin was going to let Seungmin within ten feet of Hyunjin, the Shadowhunter tried all the same, placing his hand on Jeongin’s back to attempt to tell him to stand down. He needed to let Hyunjin know that this mistake did not make him a monster, that Seungmin knew that he was still the same loving, wonderful person that he always had been and they would work through this mishap together. However, even if the wolf would accept Seungmin’s decision to go to Hyunjin, despite the deep rumble that reverberated in his chest, it was apparent that Hyunjin, would not. 

“No! Stay away from me!”

“Hyunjin-” Seungmin worried, taking another step forward as Hyunjin took one back. 

“Please…” the Vampire pleaded, holding his hands up in front of him to show Seungmin that he meant what he said, crimson tears showing no sign of letting up. “Don’t. Don’t come near me. I don’t want to hurt you again.”

Though Seungmin wanted to run to Hyunjin and tell him that it was alright, that he knew he hadn’t meant it, that this whole debacle had been his fault anyways, he would heed Hyunjin’s words, for the Vampire’s own state of mind and maybe for his too. 

Over and over again, Seungmin kept telling himself that it wasn’t Hyunjin that had fed from him but an inner primal part of himself that only knew how to quench its thirst. So, why wouldn’t his feet move any further towards his distressed boyfriend when he was in need? How could he leave him now when he was in this state because of him? After all Hyunjin had done for him, Seungmin was going to turn his back on him when he needed someone the most. 

Still, the fear that he had previously felt swirling around in his stomach when Hyunjin had his teeth lodged in his throat was still present, his mind telling him to keep away from the Vampire if he wished to stay safe. 

“I can’t be around anyone right now. I don’t know what I’ll do…Jeongin, make sure he gets back to the Institute safely. I’ve gotta go…” 

And faster than his eyes could stay on him, Hyunjin was sprinting away, hopping over a linked chain fence, an easy task now that he had replenished his strength. 

It was then that Seungmin’s worthless legs started functioning again, his good for nothing brain letting him know that the danger that had previously kept him immobile was currently departing. But he couldn’t let Hyunjin go like this, knowing that the Vampire had already decided that nothing could ever excuse what he had done, that he had already accepted that there was no way Seungmin was going to be able to forgive him for drinking his blood without his consent. 

But nothing could be further from the truth. Seungmin was fine. He felt a little wobbly, looking a bit like a baby deer learning how to walk but other than that, there was nothing wrong with him. Maybe his emotional condition was a little unstable at the moment but that would surely pass; he had been through a hell of a lot worse in his lifetime. That’s why he began to run after the Vampire, yelling out his name since he knew that he would be able to hear him, even if he was quite a distance away already. But there was no way that Jeongin was letting him go, planting his paws straight in front of Seungmin and dashing any attempts the elder made to get past. 

Their patrol was done. The end of their night. Jeongin was going to escort Seungmin back to the Institute and there would be no detours made to locate a missing Vampire. Knowing he wasn’t going to win this fight, Seungmin conceded defeat, raising his hands in surrender and letting Jeongin know that he would willingly follow him back to his home since he realised he wasn’t in the best condition to go and try to reassure Hyunjin. 

Tomorrow would be a better, brighter day. He would go to the Vampire’s hotel and convince his boyfriend that this incident was not as terrible as he was making it out to be. Everything would turn out alright. Seungmin just hoped that Hyunjin wouldn’t do anything drastic before then. 

* * *

There was the tiniest bit of remorse working its way into Changbin’s muddled emotions when he thought about how he had just spilled Woojin’s biggest secret to the one person that was absolutely not supposed to know. He had promised Woojin, swore on it but if it helped save him, then Changbin would live with that regret playing on his conscience for the rest of his life if he had to. He thought of it as penance for allowing everyone around him to suffer because he had kept his mouth shut. It just worried him that he had put Jisung in danger because of the reveal too, even though the younger had insisted that he would prefer to know rather than stay in the dark any longer. 

As his feet hit off the pavement, trying to keep up with the massive silver wolf in front of him, Changbin turned his head in every direction, looking down each hidden path and road, just in case he might catch a glimpse of Woojin before Chan managed to sniff him out. Not that he did because nothing would compare to a Werewolf’s sense of smell. The only reason that Changbin and Jisung were managing to somewhat match Chan’s speed was the fact that the wolf would stop every so often to put his snout to the ground, making sure that they were still on the path of Woojin’s scent. 

Chan halted once more, letting both Jisung and Changbin catch their breath, placing their hands on their knees to steady themselves, just begging the heavens that Woojin was somewhere near because there was no way that they could keep up with the wolf’s pace anymore. Some deity out there seemed to answer their prayers when Chan’s ears twitched, eyes shooting down an alleyway before he immediately took off, both Shadowhunter’s calling out his name as they trailed behind, losing sight of the wolf for a few seconds before they heard low growling, rounding a corner to see a sight that they had only seen in their worst nightmares. 

Numerous demons prowled around the area, circling slowly, like vultures waiting to ravage a carcass. From the looks of it, it appeared that a great number of demons had already been disposed of, judging by the viscous remains on the tarmac. There were perhaps a dozen left but their attention was firmly set upon the crumpled mass in the middle of their ring, the thing that was holding Chan’s attention as the wolf’s low growls continued. 

Changbin had been so lost in keeping his attention on the plentiful number of demons that he only realised that Chan was not acting in such an aggressive manner because of the plethora of monsters in front of them but what it was they were surrounding when he heard Jisung’s breath hitch right next to his ear. 

“Woojin!” shrieked the youngest once he saw that it was their leader’s body that was drawing the interest of the abhorrent demons. 

It made the hope of finding Woojin safe in Changbin’s heart completely disperse, agony and suffocation taking its place. 

There, in the midst of the madding crowd, lay Woojin, barely recognisable, his face a sickly concoction of dirt and blood, thick red streaks running down his cheeks. His begrimed hand still clutched his blade, showing he fought to the very last instance that he could before darkness consumed him and he fell to the ground, the weight of his body too much on his wearied feet. One of his legs looked mangled, twisted in a highly barbaric manner, no doubt one of these ghastly demons tearing it to shreds so he could no longer run away. But worst of all was the unseeable wound on his stomach, only apparent to the three young men from the hideous amount of blood pooling beside the insensible Shadowhunter, the continuous, steady flow still adding to the already dangerous supply on the ground. And Changbin would have entirely given up hope if he hadn’t just barely seen the Shadowhunter’s chest rising with each of his ragged breaths he was somehow taking to stay alive.

Woojin had been injured on missions before, Changbin was usually the one to patch him up with their first aid kit. But this? Changbin had never seen anything like this before. There shouldn’t have been this many demons in the first place; none of them would congregate like this for one measly human. Not to mention, demons like this would always go straight for the kill but they were staying away from the seriously injured Shadowhunter, like they wanted him to suffer, like they wanted him to bleed out and die from his wounds. It was calculated, premeditated but lesser demons like the ones in front of him weren’t capable of such a thought process. Unless they had been ordered to do something like this by someone of a much higher caliber. But why would something like that ever happen?

It was only when one of the demons had noticed the frozen young men and began to bound towards them did Changbin’s mind finally gear up for action, making him draw his blade and slam it into the monster’s skull before it could get anywhere near his friends. They needed to act and they needed to act  _ now.  _ If they wanted to get to Woojin while he still had a chance, they had to get to him quickly. 

“Chan, you’re going to help me get rid of the rest of these things,” Changbin directed, getting a terse nod from the wolf on his left, his crimson eyes never straying from the figure of his former partner. 

On his right, Changbin could feel his circulation slowly beginning to be cut off by the grasp that Jisung had around his arm. One look at the youngest’s face would tell anyone how utterly petrified and shaken he was at the sight of his strong, dependable, unbeatable older brother being nothing more than a bloodied, empty shell lying atop the gravel, able to do nothing about his impending doom. 

“Jisung, Chan and I will open a path for you. I want you to go to Woojin and assess what the severity of his wounds are. Check if you can stop any of the bleeding. Here, see if you can use this.” 

Unlooping his belt, Changbin held it out for Jisung to take, figuring that he could use it to make a tourniquet for Woojin’s injured leg, aware that the younger had been trained to do so. Jisung took it with shaky hands, nearly dropping it due to the tremors in his fingers. 

“I’ll try but Bin, what if he’s already-”

A sharp bark halted Jisung’s words when it made the mousy haired young man jump. Evidently, Chan didn’t want to hear that kind of talk at this moment, possibly already smelling that Woojin was still alive, albeit barely, from his scent, something that slowly disappears when someone no longer has the endowment of life cocooning them. 

“Sung, he’s still alive but if those wounds aren’t taken care of, we might lose him. Now, can you do this or not?” 

Wrapping the length of the belt around his wrist, Jisung stepped forward, giving Changbin and Chan the signal that they were to begin clearing the way for him to make it to Woojin. That was all it took for both Chan and Changbin to go all out, letting the wolf put the demons down while Changbin made sure that they would not be coming back to harm any innocents anymore. 

Precise slashes and pointed jabs allowed Jisung to race through the crowd, only hovering over Woojin for a second to truly determine how bad his injuries were but when he saw the damage, he immediately began to work, tying Changbin’s belt around Woojin’s leg to limit the blood flow coming from one of the more serious lesions. When that had been taken care of, Jisung shrugged off his leather jacket, thinking about using it to apply pressure to the gash on his stomach. In any other instance, Jisung would laugh about getting blood all over his favourite jacket, when earlier in the night he had been upset about some demon residue on it. But now was not the time.

Lifting Woojin’s shirt, Jisung could finally see the extent of his injuries. Multiple abrasions littered his torso, long mementos of demon claws running up to his bruised chest. While that was bad enough, the ragged slice that ran from his hipbone all the way up to the juncture of his arm was the worst sight Jisung had ever seen, making the younger clamp a hand over his mouth to keep down his lunch. Bundling his jacket, Jisung pressed his palms onto the wound, applying pressure until the others would come to assist, hopefully stopping the discharge of blood flowing from the laceration. 

The sounds of his friends struggling behind him was throwing Jisung’s concentration, desperately wanting to know if Changbin and Chan were doing ok but if he didn’t put his all into stabilising Woojin, then his brother’s blood would be forever on his hands if he didn’t make it. 

After the telltale noise of fighting began to die down, Jisung allowed himself to gaze back at the destruction, relieved that the two young men seemed to have disposed of the demons that had overpowered Woojin in his weakened state. Without further hesitation, they rushed to Jisung’s side, doing their own analysis of Woojin’s condition before Jisung finally dropped his brave act and began to let the tears of apprehension slip down his cheeks. 

“Wooj,” Jisung sobbed, pushing back the leader’s blood matted hair, trying to get some kind of reaction out of the young man whose breathing was almost non-existent.

Changbin attempted to activate Woojin’s  _ Iratze  _ rune, already knowing that it was probably all in vain since the leader’s injuries were far too great to be dealt with in this way and he definitely didn’t have the energy required to trigger it.

It was then he noticed Chan stride up to the injured Shadowhunter, tilting his head as he scanned Woojin’s body. When Chan seemed to realise that he was in a much worse state than he first believed, the wolf whined, steadily nosing at Woojin’s cheek as if trying to rouse the young man from his unconscious state. 

“His rune isn’t working. His wounds are too serious, we need to get him back to the Institute. Now!”

However, Jisung didn’t make a move, too focused on Woojin’s battered face, gently stroking his hair, trying to provide some comfort to his injured brother. It seemed that Jisung wasn’t ignoring Changbin’s authority but rather, he hadn’t even heard him but Changbin couldn’t do all of this on his own. If they had any chance of saving Woojin’s life, then Jisung needed to be a hell of a lot more alert than this. 

“Sung, look at me,” Changbin stated firmly, grabbing Jisung’s face with a tender hold, making the younger finally tear his gaze away from Woojin. “I need your help to get Wooj back to the Institute so we can help him. We’ll get him home and make sure that he’ll be ok. Wooj is strong enough to get through this but only if we help him. Do you trust me on that, Sung?” 

Even when the circumstances were deplorable, the odds being against them, Jisung would always trust Changbin in any situation. The faith he had in his  _ Parabatai’s  _ words was infrangible since Changbin had never let him down before. So, if he said that Woojin was going to be alright, then Woojin was going to be alright. 

With a quick nod of his head as a thumb gently grazes across his cheek, Jisung let Changbin know that he was willing to overcome the current fear that was paralysing him if it meant saving Woojin. 

“Good, Sung. I can always count on you, yeah?” Changbin praised, trying his best to keep his voice steady, knowing he couldn’t give into his internal panic if he wanted Jisung to remain calm too. 

This was where Minho not returning their calls was really screwing them over. Warlocks weren’t the only ones who could track someone down, a Werewolf could too but only if they had that person’s scent. That hadn’t been a problem in locating Woojin since they had managed to convince Chan and Werewolves never forgot a scent that they had become familiar with but now that they needed to get him back to the Institute as fast as they could, not having a Warlock with them was causing them to waste precious time. If Minho had been the one to help them find Woojin, then he would be able to portal all of them straight back to the Institute from where they were now, moving Woojin as little as possible and not aggravating his wounds. But Minho wasn’t here and if they waited much longer, Changbin was sure the Woojin wasn’t going to see this thing through. 

That meant that they would have to drive Woojin back to the Institute, a Mundane hospital not being an option for a Shadowhunter like himself. It was going to be dangerous enough since the gash across his stomach would no doubt expand while they tried to carry him to the car but then, they would have to wait another agonising ten minutes transporting him,  _ if  _ the traffic was light and they sped all the way there. They didn’t have that kind of time but they had no other way of getting their injured brother home right now. 

“I don’t think Wooj has much time left guys. We need to get moving. Sung, help me carry him to my car.” 

Debating on how they could transfer Woojin without hurting him even further, Changbin began to move his arms to support Woojin’s back, the elder completely sagging against him before the sleeve of his jacket was grabbed and pulled back, an aggravated huff ceasing Changbin in his actions. 

“Chan?” 

The wolf looked frenzied, tail hanging between his legs as his paws continually tapped off of the dirt, like his finger would shake if he were in his human form. When Changbin was about to say that he didn’t have time to sate his worries too, he realised that Chan was trying to tell him something, the Werewolf turning his head to the side as if gesturing to his back. Thrice more, Chan did the exact same thing, looking increasingly frustrated that his point was not getting across but just before he was about to give up, a light went off in Changbin’s head to signal that he finally understood. 

“You can get him there quicker.” 

Which was true. If Chan took Woojin on his back, then he wouldn’t have to worry about staying on the road, being able to traverse through back alleys, gardens and greens. If Chan’s insane speed as a wolf was included, he could probably get Woojin back to the Institute in a quarter of the time it would take to drive him there. However, the problem of keeping Woojin anchored on the Werewolf’s back, despite Chan being extremely balanced when he moved, was making him consider this possibility might not be the greatest idea unless they figured a way out to conquer that problem. 

“You think you could take two people?” Changbin inquired, Chan’s ears flickering at the question before he nodded. “Jisung can go with you. He’ll be able to make sure that Wooj stays secure on your back, keep him steady and continue applying pressure onto his wound. Can you do that, Sung?” 

Gently placing his hands behind Woojin’s head and lowering it from where it had been resting on his thighs, Jisung looked more determined than ever, realising that the fate of Woojin’s life rested on him doing a good job. Chan stood ready and unmoving, letting Changbin and Jisung carefully move the Shadowhunter onto his back, Jisung hopping on right after and pulling Woojin close, trapping his leather jacket in between them, the force of their bodies squeezing together keeping a decent pressure on the wound. Lowering one hand to steady himself by grabbing onto Chan’s fur, Jisung held on tight to Woojin with his other, giving Changbin a nod to signify that he was stable enough to make sure Woojin wouldn’t move around too much. 

“You can do this, Sungie. I’ll meet you back at the Institute, alright?” Changbin assured, placing a quick kiss to the top of Jisung’s head before doing the same to Woojin’s tarnished locks. 

Before he ran off to get in his car, he lowered himself towards Chan, the alpha looking riled up and ready to take off as fast as his legs would take him. After finding out about the reason that Woojin had broken their bond, there was no way he was going to let it end like this. He needed to speak to Woojin about it and rip him apart for ever keeping something like this from him. What would happen after that was still ambiguous. 

“Get them home safe, yeah? I’m counting on you Chan.” 

With those hopeful words, Chan gave one last huff before taking off down the long alleyway. It always amazed Changbin how fast the wolf was and how steady he kept his body, even more so now because of the delicate cargo on his back. It might not have been the most flawless plan but it was the best that they had right now and Woojin would be home a lot faster than if Changbin had taken him in his car. With no more time to think, Changbin ran back to the street where he had parked his car, jumping into the front seat and slamming the door shut. 

Jamming his keys in and revving up the car, Changbin allowed himself five seconds to place his head on the steering wheel that his hands were currently clamped around. Even though the night had started out bad, he never believed that at the end of it, he would have been holding the maimed body of his brother in his arms. He would allow the tears that he had been holding back for Jisung’s sake to flow freely in the ten minutes it would take to get back to the Institute. Not that he knew it but as he muttered out a string of curses, Changbin only tempted fate as he uttered his final sentence before driving off. 

“This night cannot possibly get any fucking worse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that 'hoping that Woojin is safe' thing didn't really work out for a lot of you. Sorry!   
Next week is basically the aftermath of this whole thing but I'll keep the rest to myself! See you then!


	40. Compunction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. So, here you go. Another chapter for all of you. Enjoy!

“Help! Please! I need some help over here!” 

It had taken Chan all of four and a half minutes to get back to the Institute, carrying Woojin’s beaten body being cradled close by Jisung. It may have been the fastest he had ever moved, even when he would race against his pack to test out their stamina but then again, he never had such valuable merchandise that needed to be protected in his care. Once he had skidded to an abrupt halt, wincing a little when Jisung yelped at the motion, Chan laid down on the ground, allowing Jisung to cautiously remove Woojin from the wolf’s back at a painstaking pace. There was no way he could carry Woojin on his own, so he would wait for Chan to transform and clothe himself so that they could bring him in together but that wouldn’t he would soon realise that wouldn’t be necessary.

Chan didn’t even bother with his shoes, just slipping his shirt and pants on before bending low and gathering Woojin so delicately up in his arms, not needing to rely on Jisung to aid him with his enhanced strength. He let the younger Shadowhunter run ahead of him to open the door before he yelled out into the open hallway for some assistance. 

The wolf was more surprised than anyone else that he was managing to keep a level head at the moment because the young man in his arms was deteriorating at an increasingly fast pace, his scent becoming weaker and weaker as the minutes ticked by. He would do everything in his power to make sure that Woojin saw this through since he needed to sort this whole mess out. Not just with regards to their own personal problems but the whole issue with Shadowhunters using Downworlders for their own selfish gain. He couldn’t put either of those things to rest without Woojin. 

There was the other side of all this too. 

The greater problem that Chan wanted to deal with: the feeling that he was a complete and utter failure for ever allowing any of this to occur. 

It had been so obvious that something had happened for Woojin to end it in such a manner. Although Chan didn’t know what it was, he  _ knew  _ that Woojin didn’t stop loving him overnight. It just wasn’t possible. For a pure and selfless soul like Woojin to break their bond in such a vengeful way was wrong, in every sense of the word. 

He knew. Chan knew. But he had been so hurt by Woojin’s words on that night that he told himself that he didn’t care what had caused his former mate to do such a thing. He had convinced himself that Woojin’s words had been true, that he had realised he no longer cared for him and since he was going to be head of the Institute, they couldn’t be together because of who Chan was. Because of  _ what  _ he was. His wolf had been so humiliated and hurt by Woojin’s newfound prejudice, snarling at its own naivety for ever thinking that it had found its mate in the Shadowhunter, that it came to its own conclusion that Chan should leave his devotion for Woojin behind and just focus on his pack for the time being. 

While discarding his love, he took on a damaging form of hate instead. Chan had spent the last seven months letting it consume him, lashing out any time Woojin so much as tried to speak to him. His mentality was firmly set on the idea that this whole thing had been Woojin’s transgression, his offense. That, just because he was now of a higher stature, he couldn’t be with a wolf anymore and had decided to throw Chan out on his ass for fear of what the higher ups would think. 

This had all been Woojin’s fault. 

Except, Changbin had been right. 

Chan had accepted Woojin’s words as truth without fighting back. His measly attempt on the night of their separation looked laughable when he would recollect it in his mind. If he had been more forceful, more insistent about looking for an explanation, he would have found out about Yunseok’s plan, the threats towards his pack and his friends, the suffering that the bastard had forced his son to go through. 

Yes, Woojin had said all of those horrible things back then, wanting Chan to think he meant each and every one of them but they had never been Woojin’s own words. They had been forced upon him, the spite filled spewings of his sadistic father, harsh insults that he had to say for the sake of Chan’s safety. As he thought back on it, Chan couldn’t believe how easily he had accepted that the man he had spent the last two years with, the one he loved with all his heart, the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, could ever say such things to him and mean it. 

Changbin was right. This had been Chan’s fault too. 

Because he knew that something had caused Woojin to finish things with him but hadn’t done anything about it. 

Now look where they were. 

Woojin’s limp body in his arms, blood continually seeping from his wounds and staining Chan’s shirt, the young man on the verge of death because Chan hadn’t fought for him. If he had, he could have protected Woojin instead of battling against him every instance that he could. He would have stood by his side, perhaps been paired off with him to fight the demons and stopped him from being torn apart by the monsters. 

He could have been the one to protect the Shadowhunter. But he didn’t. He was a failure as a man. He was a failure as a wolf. He was a failure as Woojin’s mate. And the frustration of that caused tears to bristle in his eyes. It made him ask himself the question: even when he had taken on a newfound hatred for Woojin when the Shadowhunter had ended things, had he  _ really  _ left his love for him behind too? 

It was a familiar and welcome voice that answered Chan’s pleas for help, Areum rounding a corner with a scowl upon her face, ready to scold whoever it was that was shouting at the top of their lungs like that but when her eyes landed on Chan with an unconscious Woojin in his arms, Jisung running behind him and completely covered in blood, her glower vanished as she rushed forwards towards the young men. 

“Oh my god! Woojin!” the woman shrieked, immediately placing two of her fingers underneath Woojin’s jaw to check for a pulse. Her intense trepidation receded slightly when she could feel the telltale thumps underneath her fingertips but when she realised how faint they were, she immediately ushered the Chan and Jisung to follow her, getting them to explain along the way. “Chan, what the hell happened? Talk to me, boys.” 

“He was attacked by a horde of demons. We didn’t see what happened. I only tracked him down when Jisung and Changbin came to find me since they were worried about him after getting a call from Yugyeom,” Chan explained hastily, watching Areum slide a keycard through an opening beside the door that would allow them into the medical wing. 

“What about who he was paired up with?” 

“He was out there on his own,” Jisung sniffled, speaking for the first time since they had left Changbin and though she must have known they in no way had time to stop, Areum stalled in her steps for a microsecond with a confused frown. 

“Woojin went out on patrol by himself? He wouldn’t do that.” 

Nobody was stupid enough to believe that Woojin would do something so destructive, something that even the most inexperienced Shadowhunter would never do but that just meant that it would be a hell of a lot easier to convince Areum of what actually happened. 

“Yeah, you’re right. He was supposed to go with Yugeyom but that son of a bitch you people have appointed to sit on your ruling council sent him out by himself!” Chan sneered, following Areum through the sliding doors towards a table in the middle of the room. 

Somewhere along the way, Areum had contacted Mina, the young woman being the resident medical officer of the Institute. She was already scrubbing down her hands with two other girls, obviously readying themselves for surgery since there was no way Woojin wasn’t going to need it. 

“Yunseok did what?” Areum whispered darkly.

While Chan knew that Areum was a very nice woman with such a motherly aura, even he, as an alpha, felt a twinge of fear with how the promise of certain death for Yunseok could be heard in her words. 

“I’ll deal with him later. Right now, we need to get Woojin stable,” Areum remarked as she gestured for Chan to lay Woojin carefully on the operating table, making Chan feel more at ease that Yunseok wouldn’t get away with sending his son into danger like that. “I’ll stay here and assist the girls. They’re the best of the best and they’ll do all they can. Chan, I need you to step outside with Jisung and-”

“No!” Chan denied harshly, recoiling at how desperate his voice sounded. “Please, Areum, let me stay. I need to…I need to make sure he’ll be ok. You won’t even know I’m here. I’ll stay out of your way, I’ll just stand in the corner while you help him. I just- I need to stay. Please.” 

His wolf wouldn’t allow it, to be separated from Woojin when the young man was in such a dubious state, the outcome of this night vague at best. It was howling, yelping, roaring at Chan to tell him that nobody was allowed to take Woojin away from his sight. He needed to be by his side and let Woojin know that he could get through this, that Chan would be waiting for him when he woke up. There was no way in hell that anyone could tell him that he wasn’t allowed to stay with his mate and he’d do anything to prevent that from happening. Luckily, it seemed that none of that would be needed.

It was a look full of knowing, the one that Areum was currently lavishing him with but one that held an abundance of questions too. Of course she would be aware that he and Woojin were no longer an item but it also seemed that she had copped on to the fact that Chan’s feelings for the Shadowhunter had never truly gone away, even when he was still unsure himself. 

“Alright but you need to let us help him, ok? No matter what happens, you need to stay back. We’ll do everything that we can,” Areum assured, cupping Chan’s cheek and gesturing for him to grab a set of scrubs after disinfecting his hands and mud caked feet. 

“I’ll wait outside then and make sure nobody disturbs you.” 

Chan had almost forgotten about Jisung’s presence, the young man being so unusually silent throughout the whole mess that he had just become a ghost in the background. While Chan took the scrubs, he finally looked at Jisung for the first time since they found Woojin. He looked so much smaller than Chan ever remembered, his hands and clothes covered in Woojin’s blood since he had held onto him like his life depended on it the whole ride home. If Chan was close to breaking, he couldn’t imagine how Jisung must be feeling right now, the Shadowhunter being the most emotional person that Chan had ever come across and more often than not, that trait served him well but in instances like this, when his brother was on the verge of death, it must have been absolutely tearing him apart. 

“Jisung, wait! I’m sorry, I never checked how you were,” Areum apologised as the others began to tear Woojin’s shirt open to assess what exactly it was they needed to do. “Are you injured, dear? Is any of this yours?”

Gesturing to the blood soaking his clothes, Areum’s face told him that she wanted nothing more than to take him into a reassuring hug but that she didn’t have any time to do so since she would be momentarily needed. 

“No, Auntie, none of it is mine. It’s all…Wooj’s,” Jisung hiccupped, wanting to keep his tears to himself until he was alone once again, to try and maintain a strong front. 

“And Changbin? He was with you on duty, right?” 

“Chan took me and Wooj on his back since it would be faster. Bin is driving back, he should be here soon but he’s not injured either,” confirmed Jisung, just as Mina called Areum back and began to intubate Woojin. 

“Alright, dear. Go and clean yourself up and if anything should happen, I’ll let you know, ok?” 

Chan was sure that Jisung wouldn’t be going to clean up, he probably wouldn’t go any further than the waiting area by the door, most likely wanting to stay as close as possible to Woojin too. There was no way that both of them could stay there, especially not with the way Jisung was coated from top to toe in blood and grime, so he had done what was needed and let Chan be the one who got to watch over Woojin instead. 

Before the door slid open for him, Jisung turned back towards Chan donning his surgical mask, giving the wolf the saddest, most heart wrenching smile he had ever seen, a silent whisper of ‘take care of him’ on his lips. Though he knew there was absolutely nothing he could do for Woojin himself, Chan nodded to try and persuade Jisung that everything would be alright. 

Backing himself into a corner, Chan waited with bated breath as he watched Areum settle in beside Mina, a young woman just the tiniest bit older than Chan holding up a sharp scalpel, as they prepared to save the life of the leader of their Institute. Areum’s son. Changbin, Seungmin and Jisung’s brother. A friend to so many others. Chan didn’t know what the end of the night would bring them, immense sorrow or relieved exultation but for now, Chan could do nothing but watch as he stood helpless in the background. 

“Ok then, let’s begin.” 

* * *

Changbin thanked the gods that Chan had thought to bring Woojin back to the Institute himself because their leader would have surely lost his battle if Changbin had been the one to drive him there. In the time it should have taken him to return home, he had encountered five red lights, a small accident that was backing up traffic and had managed to get stuck at a level crossing just as a train was speeding by. It was like he wasn’t supposed to get back to the Institute quickly, like whoever was pulling the strings of his fate wanted him to sit in agony while Woojin could very well be at death’s door. 

Finally, he pulled up into the garage that the Institute used a block away from the glamoured building, barely taking the time to lock the car before he was barreling towards his home. Changbin had never been the praying sort, usually believing that whatever happened was meant to do so and nothing could change that but right now, in this instance, he was beseeching every possible entity out there to make sure that Woojin would pull through this because, if he didn’t, Changbin didn’t know how he was supposed to go on. 

Just as he was about to push through the entrance of the building, regarding a bloody handprint on the wood of the door, Changbin was deterred from doing so when he heard his name being called a few meters behind him, turning around to see two figures in the darkness hanging onto each other while making their way towards him. It was only when he got closer that he noticed it to be Seungmin with a  _ very  _ infuriated Jeongin holding the elder’s arm as it was slung around his shoulders. That could only mean that Seungmin wasn’t strong enough to hold himself up, even though the Shadowhunter was desperately trying to free himself from the wolf’s grip before they got to Changbin. 

“Changbin! Can you help me get Seungmin inside?” 

“I don’t need help, Jeongin. I’m able to walk on my own,” Seungmin huffed and it was only when they came in a close enough range was Changbin able to see the blood dried into the side of Seungmin’s face. 

It wasn’t bad enough that Woojin had been assaulted and was now fighting for his life. No, now Seungmin had apparently been caught up in something too, though it didn’t look to be in any way as serious. Despite Seungmin’s certainty that he didn’t need any support, Changbin still ran to the two youths, grabbing Seungmin’s free arm and wrapping it around his shoulder. As he did so, he noticed the redhead duck his chin and turn his head to the side, like he was trying to avoid the elder’s gaze. 

“What happened? How did you get hurt? I thought you said you wouldn’t get involved in fighting demons, Seungmin,” Changbin scolded and while Seungmin could have been hurt trying to help out civilians, the slight look of shame on the redhead’s face told Changbin he had actually hit the right button. “Whatever, as long as you’re alright. Where’s Hyunjin? We told you to stay with him. Why isn’t he with you?”

“It’s a hell of a lot better that he’s not with-”   


“Jeongin…” Seungmin breathed, eyeing the Werewolf with a look that told Changbin that they had already gone through this conversation multiple times on their way home. “Can we just wait until we get inside, please?” 

As much as Changbin wanted to go and check on Woojin’s condition, he knew that Chan and Jisung would make sure that he was taken care of, that he wouldn’t be able to do anything for him right now anyways. That didn’t mean that his mind would be anywhere else than on his injured brother though. Even so, he took Seungmin to the meeting room instead, sure that nobody would be using it right now, bringing along a first aid kit to clean up the blood that seemed to stem from the back of his head. 

When Jeongin had led Seungmin to an empty seat, placing him down carefully, Changbin took out some disinfectant and a cotton ball, hoping that Seungmin wouldn’t need stitches for the hidden wound that he had not yet found. But as he went to sterilise it, he heard a small scoff at his back, turning around to see Jeongin still fuming like he had been earlier. 

“That isn’t the wound that should be getting your attention,” the young wolf snapped, though Changbin could tell the pup’s anger wasn’t directed at him. 

“Jeongin, please stop,” Seungmin berated, head still hung low enough that Changbin couldn’t detect what other injury he should be looking at. 

“Seriously? You’re not going to tell him what  _ he  _ did to you? If you won’t, then I will!”

It seemed that whatever Jeongin was referring to wasn’t going to stay hidden for long, despite the absolute death glare that Seungmin was giving the wolf. Changbin couldn’t understand why Seungmin would be hesitant to show him an injury. Surely he trusted him enough to do so at this stage but the other part of what Jeongin had said hit him quite forcefully and when Changbin thought back on how the wolf had been more than a little upset when he had mentioned Hyunjin, he began to put two and two together. 

“Seungmin?” 

“It’s not a big deal, Bin.”

“It  _ is _ a big deal! Why are you acting like it isn’t?” Jeongin growled and Changbin was getting a little irked himself about being left out of the loop like this. 

“Show me, Minnie.”   


With an irritated sigh, Seungmin finally conceded that he wouldn’t be able to keep this secluded injury hidden forever and lifted his head to look Changbin straight in the eye, his gaze begging the elder not to freak out about it. 

Changbin expected something to be wrong with his face, a giant bruise that had been invisible in the dark of the night or a scratch that had been hidden by his ever growing fringe but other than the splatter of blood that he had seen earlier, there was nothing else wrong with the redhead’s visage. But there had to be something amiss, so Changbin let his eyes wander down further and that’s when he saw what Seungmin had been afraid to show him, the two angry, swollen indentations in the younger’s neck, leaving no room for error when Changbin figured out exactly what that meant. 

“You were bitten?!” Changbin exclaimed, grabbing Seungmin’s chin and turning his head to the side to get a better look at the marks. “Who did this to you?!” 

“Who do you think?” Jeongin muttered.   


He had already known when he had asked the question, unfortunately not being stupid enough to come to any other conclusion but his brain wouldn’t allow it to sink in, that Seungmin had been taken advantage of like that, by a person that all of them had trusted their entire lives. 

“H-Hyunjin fed off of you? No, no he wouldn’t do that. He doesn’t feed off of humans, it’s illegal. Hyunjinnie wouldn’t-”

“Well, he did!” Jeongin barked, ears laid back against his golden locks. “And it wasn’t like Seungmin offered either. He attacked him. I’m the one who had to save him from Hyunjin. He was feral, completely out of it. That  _ thing _ -” 

“Jeongin!” Seungmin interrupted with a rage that Changbin had never seen the younger be consumed by before. “Don’t talk about him like that. Especially when you don’t know what happened.” 

“I don’t need to know what happened! He fed off of you, Seungmin!” 

This would soon turn into a full on yelling match if Changbin didn’t step in and cut off the steady flow of provocation that was rolling between the two young men. This wasn’t a topic to sidestep, things needed to be cleared up because if Hyunjin had really just attacked Seungmin out of nowhere and fed off of him against his will, then things were going to become awfully complicated. Yes, this is exactly what Changbin needed at the moment. 

“Minnie, look at me,” the Shadowhunter commanded sternly but reverted back to a softer stance when he saw the glossy sheen over the younger’s eyes. “If Jeongin and I don’t know what happened, then how about you tell us? So we can get through this thing without any misunderstandings.” 

For the next few minutes, Seungmin recollected the entirety of the night after Jeongin had left them to go and check on Yedam, who was fine and more than capable of looking after himself in times like this, according to what he had told Jeongin. But he had been glad the wolf was worried enough about him to come and check all the same. As time went on and Seungmin went into detail about how he had been the one to suggest fighting the demon, how he had been the one that had gotten cocky enough to think they had killed the demon on their first try, how  _ he  _ had been the one to freeze up when a random memory hit him and Hyunjin had saved him from a certain death by being the one to take the demon’s attack, Changbin slowly came to understand why it was that things had transpired the way they did. 

“Yes, he pushed me down and bit me but that was only because his body told him that if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to regenerate his wounds. It wasn’t his fault, Bin. He didn’t mean to and if you heard how horrified he was with himself when he came back, you’d know that this was all just one big mistake.”

If Hyunjin was seriously injured and hadn’t fed in over two days like Seungmin had said, then it would make sense that something like that would come to pass. Even the oldest Vampires who had controlled their bloodlust for years would have had trouble reining it in when they were in that position, being terribly wounded and realising that there was a fresh supply of blood flowing right in front of them with a scent that Changbin was sure Hyunjin found delectable. It didn’t excuse it but it made sense. 

Besides, even if he hadn’t been friends with Hyunjin for a good portion of his youth, Changbin could see that Hyunjin would never do anything to harm Seungmin if he were in his right mind. The Vampire was absolutely head over heels crazy about Seungmin, a description that Felix would no doubt love to hear again and the feeling was completely mutual from the way Seungmin constantly spoke of the elder. They were meant to be, there was no other way of putting it and even when they were currently torn apart by something as serious as this, Seungmin was going above and beyond to ensure that nobody thought badly of Hyunjin. 

“Like any of that is an excuse,” Jeongin growled, seemingly even more rattled than before because of the descriptive nature of Seungmin’s story. “He took your blood against your will, Seungmin! He had no sense of humanity left in him! He’s a monster and that’s all he’ll ever be!”

The wheels of the chair that Seungmin had been placed upon made a very unappealing sound when the redhead pushed himself up off of it, prowling forwards before he was centimeters away from Jeongin, forcefully pushing the wolf backwards until he hit off of the closed door behind him. The motion seemed to ignite something within the Werewolf’s chest as Jeongin whipped around and snarled at Seungmin, the Shadowhunter not giving a damn about his friend’s not so playful threat as he gathered up the fabric of his jacket between his fingers and slammed Jeongin off of the door once more. 

“I dare you to say something like that again, Jeongin,” Seungmin grumbled lowly, fisting his hands even tighter into the Werewolf’s jacket, causing a little growl to slip past the younger’s bared teeth. “You call my boyfriend a monster again and you’ll regret it. If you’re just going to stand here and insult Hyunjin, then you may as well just leave.” 

That was what caused the first sign of regret on Jeongin’s face before his sharp canines receded back into his mouth, fluffy ears that had been peaked in defensiveness currently pinned back once again, eyes that had been constantly shifting from crimson back to his dark brown immediately erasing all signs that the wolf had ever been angry. Finally lowering his head, he let Seungmin know that no more slander or contempt for the Vampire would be heard on this night, not from him. He didn’t want to leave Seungmin’s side at a time like this, when his friend was in, what he thought was, a vulnerable state. His inner wolf let him know that it was his job to protect a member of his chosen pack, even if that meant giving into Seungmin’s demands that he wasn’t too happy about. 

“Seungmin, calm down,” Changbin soothed, taking the redhead’s hand before he could do any more irreversible damage to his friendship with Jeongin. 

Once he had taken his attention away from the ashamed looking wolf, Changbin led Seungmin back to his seat, never once letting go of the younger man’s hand, interlocking their fingers together to show that he was on his side in this whole ordeal. 

“Believe me when I say that I know Hyunjinnie would never hurt you if he was lucid enough to comprehend what he was doing,” Changbin acknowledged, picking up the cotton ball once again to disinfect Seungmin’s wounds, starting off with the bite marks on his neck. “He clearly wasn’t tonight but you also have to know that any Vampire drinking straight from a human, regardless of whether the person is willing or not, is breaking the Law that the Clave set out and it is an offense punishable by death.” 

Jolting in place, Seungmin grabbed Changbin’s wrist, stopping the work he had been doing. If someone ever wished to see what the definition of true fear looked like, all they needed to do was look deep into Seungmin’s eyes since the young man was downright frozen in horror at the prospect of Hyunjin being taken by the Clave to meet his end because of him. 

“But you won’t say anything, right? Please, Bin, I don’t want anything to happen to him because of this. I’m going to go and talk to him tomorrow and sort all of this out. I know you’re required to report something like this but…please, Changbin.” 

In all honesty, Changbin wasn’t all that enthusiastic about turning one of his best friends over to the Clave because of a lapse in mental stability. As far as he knew, since Hongjoong had found him and brought him to his first clan who had taught him how to control his bloodlust, Hyunjin had never fed off of a human. He had always been rather resolute about being able to live peacefully amongst everyone, never wanting to put the life he had built up with his clan in danger. This was just a minor smudge on his pristine record and even if Changbin got disciplined over it, he would not be the one to sell Hyunjin out. 

“I won’t say anything, Minnie,” he clarified, allowing Seungmin to retract his hand from the death grip he had placed around the elder’s wrist. “ _ But,  _ if this happens again, my hands will be tied, do you understand? I’m already risking a lot by not disclosing this information to the Clave.”   


On wobbly legs, Seungmin once again raised from his seated position, holding none of the frenzy he had upon last carrying out the action. Instead, the thankfulness he was currently holding in his chest was almost palpable, making itself known through his shaking arms that had snaked their way around Changbin’s broad shoulders as a form of gratitude. 

And, when he thought about it, Changbin realised that this was probably the first time that he had gotten any form of physical affection from the redhead. Jisung was a regular receiver of such lovely gifts, Seungmin being unable to skulk away if he tried when Jisung would capture him in a snuggly embrace but Changbin could certainly see why Jisung was so fond of Seungmin’s hugs. Gentle, yet full of a warmth that many people weren’t willing to share with others. 

“Thank you, Bin,” Seungmin whispered, tightening his hold on Changbin. “I’ll sort this whole thing out, I promise.” 

“You better. If not, I’ll have to go over there myself and give him a piece of my mind. I’ll also be punishing your ass for jumping into a fight like that without proper backup.” 

Within the confines of their safe space, everything seemed like it would be alright, that things would turn out better than they had expected but the bubble surrounding them popped at the sound of a door opening, both young men turning to see Jeongin trying to sneak out of the room without being noticed. 

Changbin already knew that the wolf was probably dealing with a lot of conflicting emotions right now. It had become obvious to pretty much everyone that Seungmin was an important person in Jeongin’s life, not just because he was one of the first friends that he had since being turned but also because he had chosen him as a member of his pack, despite not being a wolf or being selected by Chan. Wolves were a part of the pack that their alpha had designated to be their family but wolves also chose those who they themselves deemed worthy of their absolute trust. They were family too and were to be protected at all costs. And while Seungmin was perfectly fine and had already seemingly forgiven Hyunjin for what had happened, it wasn’t so easy for Jeongin, to excuse someone after nearly literally sucking the life out of one of his pack members. 

“Innie?”    


With enough strength to nearly break the doorknob into pieces, Jeongin tightened his grip, not wanting to turn and look Seungmin in the eye after he had basically been threatened by a person that he had once called his friend. After such an interaction, he didn’t know if he had that privilege anymore. 

But Seungmin had always been a peacekeeper, even when he was the one who had instigated the argument. Carefully creeping up behind the wolf, unsure what kind of reaction he was about to get out of him, Seungmin maintained a decent distance, not wanting to spark another verbal war with the young man. In fairness, Seungmin understood what Jeongin was feeling. It couldn’t have been much fun seeing one of your friends in such a precarious position and he knew that Jeongin just wanted to protect him from all the bad things in the world but he had to show the wolf that things weren’t as terrible as they appeared to be. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I yelled at you and got physical. I shouldn’t have done that. I know you’re only doing your best to keep me safe. I never thanked you for helping me earlier and you have to know that I am grateful for what you did but you also have to know that Hyunjin _isn’t _the enemy here.” 

He didn’t seem to be getting through Jeongin’s iron like mindset with his reasoning just yet, knowing his argument wasn’t good enough to sate a Werewolf's protective instincts. Still, he was determined to have his voice heard.

“It was a mistake. We all make them. And please don’t call him a monster. He no doubt already thinks that about himself and I know it would hurt him even more if someone he considered a friend were to call him that too.” 

Jeongin’s ears fluttered at that, Seungmin realising that the wolf probably didn’t think of Hyunjin as a friend just yet, especially not now after what had gone down but he had always told Seungmin how he was determined and eager to make friends since the number of people that he could interact with and actually form friendships with at the moment was slim to none. 

“I think you out of all people would understand what it’s like to be hurt by someone thinking you are a monster just for being who you are.” 

Of course he did. Even if Jeongin hadn’t experienced the stigma against Werewolves himself, there was always an innate belief in everyone’s mind that his kind were monsters. Even if Shadowhunters and other Downworlders hid their feelings on wolves, he himself, as a Mundane growing up, knew how people viewed Werewolves. 

In stories, Vampires were mysterious denizens of the night, Faeries were beautiful and beguiling, Warlocks were magical and mystifying. But Werewolves? They were mindless beasts that only sought death and destruction. For the longest time after he had been turned, Jeongin thought himself a monster, so he wouldn’t hold it against anyone else if they thought the same but it still hurt. But when he met the people of the Institute, who weren’t woves themselves and treated him as an equal, he thought maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t a monster as he first believed. 

But now here he was, talking about Hyunjin, a guy who irked him but showed that he had such a tender, caring side to him too, in such a horrible and disrespectful manner. Seungmin was right, it had been a mistake on his part but if people were willing to try, mistakes could be fixed. 

“I know I’m requesting a lot and after the way I treated you earlier, I may not have any right to ask but please,  _ please  _ don’t say anything to anyone about this. I couldn’t live with myself if Hyunjin were to be punished because of what I forced him into.” 

Changbin wondered if Jeongin was just going to continue walking out the door, ignoring Seungmin’s pleas and perhaps telling others about this problem. He would manage to keep this quiet but if Jeongin wanted to out Hyunjin’s secret, then there was nothing he could do about it. 

But when Jeongin’s frame began to shake and a small whimper could be heard coming from him, Changbin got the feeling that Seungmin’s request had appealed to the young wolf’s heart. 

“Oh, Innie,” Seungmin sighed, placing his hand on Jeongin’s shoulder before the youngster spun around to capture the redhead in a hug, wobbling lip managing to catch the small tears running down his face. 

“I’m sorry, Seungmin. I don’t want to leave. Please don’t make me. I just wanted you to be safe. I’m sorry about everything I said. I want to stay with you” 

“You can stay, Innie. Of course you can. I’m sorry I was so harsh,” Seungmin murmured, with Changbin wondering if he was also trying to hold back on his tears. “But you know that I am safe, Innie. As long as you’re around, I’ll always be safe.” 

The tension that was crushing them, the one that had been bearing down upon them since they had arrived back at the Institute was now gone, evaporating into the air like it had never been there in the first place, two friends reconciling under Changbin’s watchful eye. 

As the two youths pulled away, Seungmin’s eyes rolled back for a moment, his legs shaking enough for him to falter but before Changbin could even move one foot in front of the other, Jeongin already had an arm around Seungmin, placing him back in the chair as the redhead shook off the momentary dizzy spell. Despite his insistence that he was alright, he still lost a lot of blood and had a head injury. Changbin just hoped that a concussion was not about to be added to his list of ailments. 

While Jeongin held onto Seungmin’s hand like a lifeline in comfort, Changbin resumed his work caring for Seungmin’s wounds, being as gentle as possible since he was sure that if he caused Seungmin any more discomfort, Jeongin would have a strong word or two for him. 

“How did your patrol go?” Seungmin wondered, waking Changbin from his momentary stupor, his thoughts a million miles away.    


Despite that, Changbin continued to dab at the bump on the back of Seungmin’s head without uttering a word. He debated on whether or not he should actually tell Seungmin about what had happened earlier in the evening. On one hand, he really didn’t want to add to the young man’s worries tonight. The whole mess with Hyunjin was surely taking up every little one of his thoughts at the moment, his mind no doubt a flurry of ‘what if’s’ that wouldn’t be answered for at least another twelve hours. But on the other, Woojin meant just as much to Seungmin as he did to him; Woojin was Seungmin’s brother too and he had every right to know that he may not make it through the night. 

An occupational hazard, that’s what he wanted to say it was; there was always an ingrained sort of danger in this type of work. Every time that they left for a mission, they knew they might not come back home. Changbin had always known that and it became even more clear when he had been given the life changing news that his father would not be returning to him when he was fifteen years old, the man having given his life to protect those in his care. Changbin had given him a sweet goodbye upon his departure for his mission but he never thought it would be the last time he ever saw the most important man in his life. 

He had said goodbye but he didn’t realise it would be his final goodbye. And if anything, Seungmin deserved to deliver his last farewell to his friend if that’s what fate had decided for their leader. 

  
“Bin?” 

With Seungmin’s inquisitive voice full of worry when he saw the clouded expression on Changbin’s face, the elder finally decided to do what was right. Placing an adhesive bandage over the marks on his neck to hide them away from prying eyes, Changbin lowered into his hunches, taking Seungmin’s hands in his own.

“It’s Wooj.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go. I like to think that, even if Seungin fight, there's no way they would stay mad at each other for long. Let me make it perfectly clear though: even if Jeongin apologised to Seungmin for what he said, that doesn't mean he had forgiven Hyunjin just yet.   
Next week is one of the longest chapters I've written so far and I'm not going to give you too much in the way of hints. Just: Jisung.   
See you then!


	41. Mollification

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why so many of you were scared last week when I said this was a Jisung chapter. Like I've ever hurt him before. But, you know, I never said that he would be all by himself. Enjoy!

Four. 

The number of hours since the doors of the medical bay had closed behind Jisung, forcing him to idly sit by and wait for an update on Woojin’s condition. He had not gone to his room to clean himself off as Areum had suggested, still covered from top to toe in Woojin’s blood. Instead, he chose to sit atop one of the black leather couches placed in the long hallway between the surgical suite and the rest of the institute. 

It was so quiet. Far too quiet. He couldn’t hear anything that was happening through the doors on either side of the hallway. No beeping of heart monitors, no murmurs of anyone speaking, no footsteps on the cold, tiled floors. Jisung should have been thankful for the silence that was allowing his mind to rest for a moment but when he was left alone with his thoughts like this, past visions of what he had seen on this night, harrowing echoes of the secrets that Changbin had disclosed, he wished for nothing more than a distraction so that he was not consumed by them. 

During the first hour, Seungmin had burst through the doors on the other end of the hallway, Changbin and Jeongin following closely behind. It had been a flurry of questions that Jisung couldn’t answer. 

How is Woojin? Is he ok? How bad were his wounds? How many demons were there? Why did he try to fight them on his own? How could he be so reckless? 

He’ll live, right? 

Jisung couldn’t answer because Jisung didn’t know. 

With a simple shrug of his shoulders, he was sure he could hear Seungmin begin to cry at the uncertainty of the situation before Changbin had led him back the way that they had come, telling him that they could do some good by helping to direct those who were still out in the field dealing with the demons. Changbin had given Jisung a sombre look over his shoulder, though the younger did not see it, not having raised his head since the moment he had sat down. 

During the second hour, Changbin had returned after assigning everyone tasks to keep their operation running smoothly. He took a seat in the vacant place beside Jisung and even then, the younger didn’t raise his eyes from where they had been burning a hole in the floor all this time. Changbin gently grabbed his wrist, thumbing across his pulse point trying to convey that he knew Jisung may have been annoyed with him for keeping such a secret all this time and he understood how difficult all of this was for him. 

Jisung had, of course, been incredibly pissed off at first when he thought back to all the times he had asked Changbin if he had known what had caused Woojin to cut ties with Chan and had been brushed off by the elder saying that it was none of their business. Still, Changbin, as he always had, was just trying to protect him, from Yunseok’s nefarious scheme and he couldn’t stay mad at his  _ Parabatai _ for that. Jisung eventually placed his hand upon Changbin’s but still didn’t meet his eye, afraid that his vulnerability would pour out should he meet the elder’s gaze. 

They stayed in complete silence, their presence being enough as they tried to heal each other’s wounds. After about thirty minutes, Changbin had left, saying that he needed to head back to Seungmin and help out with the partols. Nodding his head, Jisung unintentionally reached out for Changbin’s hand as he pulled away, not knowing how badly he needed human contact at the moment when the last person he had held was Woojin. Changbin was never one to deny Jisung, holding back for another ten minutes as he grasped the younger’s hands, despite the lingering blood on them. When Jisung’s grip loosened, Changbin took that as a signal that he could leave, even though he would rather sit here with Jisung and wait for Woojin to wake up. He knew that Woojin would want him working to figure all of this out and for his brother, he would do just that, the side benefit being it would distract him enough so that he wouldn’t drive himself crazy with undesirable outcomes. 

During the third hour, Areum emerged through the sliding doors, Mina and the other girls following her soon after. Jisung had been so lost inside of his head that he jumped at the sound, nearly toppling out of his seat but quickly steadied himself, ready to ask all of the questions he had been unable to answer before but Areum held up her hand to quieten him before he could muster a word. 

“At the moment, he’s stable. We managed to get his vitals under control but he’s still in a serious condition and the next forty eight hours will be the most critical. There was major trauma to his liver and spleen, one of his lungs was punctured, he has a concussion and multiple broken bones. With how badly his leg was damaged, he’s lucky he didn’t lose it and he…crashed twice during surgery but we managed to stop all of the internal bleeding and get him back,” Areum explained with a slight tremor.” We’ve moved him to the ICU and Chan is with him. All we can do now is hope and pray that he’ll keep fighting on his own.” 

Hope. That word held the weight of the world upon its shoulders. Too many people relied on it when there was no way that a favourable outcome would become reality. Hope had let Jisung down too many times. It had let him down on the night of the demon attacks, when he had hoped that his parents would come back safely. It had let him down when he spent the following weeks hoping that Seungmin would suddenly turn up in front of him, that he had not lost another member of his family. It had let him down when he hoped that Chan and Woojin’s parting had just been over a silly disagreement but ended up being permanent. 

It had let him down when he hoped that Minho would one day return his feelings, only to be disappointed once again.

Hope was not something to live by but if he gave up on it entirely, he would surely lose any will to live. 

And now, as the mark of the fourth hour passed, Jisung was all alone again in the hallway, hands clasped so hard he was afraid his bones would break, bruises more than likely forming beneath his fingertips but he withstood the pain. Nobody else had come to him, knowing that he would not acknowledge them if they did. He was too exhausted, both in mind and body, only able to constantly question how things had turned out this way. 

The pungent smell from his clothes was beginning to make his throat clog up, the copper smell dying down and becoming something more painful to inhale but Jisung just couldn’t find it within himself to leave Woojin, even if he wasn’t technically by his side. What if he went to shower or change and something happened? He had to stay there so he could go to Woojin should he need him. He had always been there for Jisung, no matter what and now, it was Jisung’s turn to be there for Woojin, seeing as he couldn’t save him in time from such a horrid fate. 

“The med bay, where is it?!” 

It was the first thing that managed to break through Jisung’s defences, the sound of a voice yelling on the other side of the door that led to the rest of the Institute. Lifting his head and straightening his slumped position, Jisung slowly turned towards the sound, hearing a beep to signify someone using a key card to gain access but the owner of the voice shouldn’t have had one, which is why he was more than confused when he saw Minho running through the doors like there was something hot on his heels. 

Minho was here. Minho was  _ finally  _ here but it was a little too late. 

The Warlock got about half way down the hallway before he quite harshly came to a halt, his eyes falling on Jisung’s frail form, dried tear tracks smearing his face and blood painting his fingertips. 

“Oh, god, Sungie,” Minho gasped, his legs finally remembering what their function was as Minho ran the rest of the distance, reaching Jisung and dropping to his knees but refraining from touching the young man, like the smallest brush of his fingers would shatter the Shadowhunter into a million pieces that could not be put back together. 

Jisung sat silently, not quite knowing what it was that Minho wanted him to say. More than that, he couldn’t find the words to accurately describe what he was feeling. It was like someone had grabbed his emotions and thrown them into a blender, the constant swirling just making him even more frustrated about the situation. 

“Sung, are you hurt?” Minho tried, his eyes scanning Jisung for some sort of deviation from how he usually looked. “Bin filled me in on what happened. He said that Wooj was stable but has there been any more news on his condition? Chan is with him, right? How did this happen?” 

In the midst of Minho’s rambling, Jisung could do nothing but stare at the Warlock, a sad sort of vexation that was not supposed to be directed at the person in front of him overcoming his mind. 

“Where were you?” Jisung whispered in a way that he knew would let Minho know that he was in no way pleased with how long it took him to get here. 

That cut Minho’s disjointed stuttering short, the Warlock catching onto the disappointed connotations in Jisung’s breath. He had let Jisung down, there was no questioning that and the cause was making him feel so much worse. 

“Sung, I just- I was busy. I was just walking into the Labyrinth and saw your first call but I didn’t realise it was for something like this. I had work to do, so I went inside but since electronics don’t work in there, none of your messages came through to let me know what you needed me for and I-”

Minho was once again interrupted when Jisung held a hand up to signal that he was no longer required to speak. It didn’t matter what his intentions were, Minho had already dug his own grave with his explanation. 

“You saw me calling you and ignored it?” Jisung fumed, pushing himself up off of the seat, with Minho quickly following him into an upright position. “You could have helped us from the very start but you were too busy to talk to me? You could have been here, you could have located him so much faster than Chan. Why the hell would you disregard my call like that?!”

“Jisung, I-”   


With much more force than necessary, Jisung placed his hands on Minho’s chest, pushing him backwards but not enough for the Warlock to lose his footing. 

“How could you not answer me?! How could you not be here when you were needed the most?!” Jisung yelled, not caring about the fact that the volume of his voice could be carried throughout the Institute. “After everything we’ve been through together, was it that easy to ignore me? Woojin needed you and you weren’t there for him!” 

Minho had to raise his hands to catch the Shadowhunter’s wrists as they continued to bang off his chest in heightened irritation. No matter how many times Minho tried to explain his actions, there was no way that Jisung was going to give him the chance to save himself after he had said outright that he had brushed off Jisung’s attempts to contact him. 

“Wooj needed you! And you weren’t there! He needed you! I needed you…”

The floodgates finally opened as Jisung felt the grip around his wrists tighten, keeping him from falling to his knees as the tears came, rickety sobs tearing their way up his throat and causing him to choke. This was all too much for him, everything that had happened tonight, it was too much and to add to it, Minho had ignored him in his hour of need. Jisung couldn’t keep himself together like he should have, like Woojin would have wanted him too. He just couldn’t do it anymore. 

“Jisung, baby, breathe for me, yeah?” Minho soothed, bringing Jisung into a hug when the young man’s cries began to take his breath away, not holding him too tightly for fear of him lashing out or making him feel cornered. “Come here, keep breathing. Just like that, you’re ok.” 

Sitting down where Jisung had previously set up base, Minho dragged the Shadowhunter into his lap as he continued to wail, on the verge of breaking into a panic attack that was in no way needed right now but Minho’s arms around his waist were managing to keep Jisung grounded, his mind unable to float away when he buried his face into Minho’s chest. 

Through the fog of his misery, Jisung barely registered Minho constantly whispering small praises and affectionate promises, one hand brushing through his disheveled hair while the other held on tightly to his waist, thumb rubbing small, comforting circles into his hip. 

Seconds, minutes, hours. Jisung had no idea how long he had been sitting in Minho’s secure embrace but nobody came to disturb them in that amount of time and for that, Jisung was thankful. Despite still being sore that Minho had turned a blind eye to his call, Jisung just wanted someone to hold him, to give him some semblance of order in his mind. 

“I’m sorry, Sung. Please don’t cry. I’m sorry I ignored your call, I never should have done that. Everything will be alright. Wooj will be fine, you’ll see. It’ll get better, baby,” Minho vowed, continually threading his fingers through the younger’s hair, lips mere centimeters away from Jisung’s forehead, breath tinted with a hint of coffee fanning across his heated skin. 

“Stop calling me that,” Jisung sniffled groggily, pushing himself up from Minho’s chest but still staying seated in his lap, wiping away the stray tears, though more were sure to follow. 

“Calling you what?” 

“Baby. Don’t call me that.” 

His voice came out a little harsher than he meant it to but on top of all of his problems right now, he didn’t need Minho acting all lovey dovey with him when he knew how it was going to end, the Warlock moving onto the next person to play around with and leaving him behind. That’s how it always ended. He had been doing so well and it was all about to come crashing down if Minho continued on this path.

“Oh, alright, sorry. But why not?” 

“I don’t want to be called a pet name like that when you use it so easily for other people. Since it doesn’t mean anything to you. Don’t use it when talking to me.” 

“Other people? What does that mean, Sung?” Minho asked with genuine confusion, moving his thumb across Jisung’s cheeks as a fresh wave of tears began to trickle down. 

Jisung was a sucker for romance; maybe that had become obvious to everyone around him. Be it books, plays, or movies, Jisung was hooked. On particularly lonesome nights, he would usually corral either Changbin or Woojin to watch some sappy film with him. More often than not, his partner would end up asleep on his bed, drooling as the movie continued to play in the background. It was always a pivotal moment when the two main characters finally managed to ignite the spark of love, staring into each other's eyes while the rain poured down on top of them, their lips meeting in a slow, soft kiss before they were professing their feelings with the use of such adorable nicknames. Sweetheart, darling, love. 

Baby. Jisung had always liked that one in particular.

It was an overused plot line, terribly banal but each and every time, Jisung would become invested in the two lovers, the long road they would have to traverse to get to their beautiful ending and end up sobbing about how it was unfair that he didn’t have someone to speak to him like that too, usually rousing the poor soul who had fallen asleep beside him. 

And he had lost count of how many times he had daydreamed about Minho calling him that but in the end, it didn’t matter because it would always remain a daydream. Even if Minho used such names on Jisung, the Shadowhunter had no doubt that he addressed every one of his hookups in such a way. He couldn’t help but imagine Minho gently pushing back Nari’s hair from her face while kissing her, calling her his baby too. Knowing that she only liked Minho for his appearance and power, Jisung hated the idea of being in the same league as her in Minho’s eyes. That’s why he couldn’t help it when the bleakness and dejection that had made themselves at home in his heart suddenly reared their heads in an instance like this, doing their best to crack his resolve to keep his feelings for his best friend a secret. 

“The other people that you see, the ones like me. I don’t want to be compared to them, we’re not the same. They don’t see you like I do. I know who you truly are, the real you.”

Without Jisung’s consent, his mind slowly began to unravel the numerous threads that held his lies together, his fondness for the Warlock being hidden beneath them. It felt like if he didn’t get some of the strain off of his heart, it would end up disintegrating, too marred and wrecked by what had happened tonight. 

“None of them see you like I do. Oh god, I’m so sorry, Min. I promise I tried really hard, I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Jisung stuttered, breath catching in his throat as the Warlock steadily brushed away his tears, shushing him again with such benevolence. 

“Sung, calm down. What are you apologising for? You didn’t mean for  _ what  _ to happen? Help me out here, I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Not fighting it this time, Jisung was once again pulled down to Minho’s chest, no doubt ruining the elder’s shirt with his tears but when he thought about it, the blood that had been on his hands had already brushed off on it, coating Minho’s shoulders and back in light red handprints and flakes of the dried substance from where he had grabbed onto the Warlock with all his strength. 

“I thought if I ended it, it would make a difference, that this feeling would go away. But it didn’t. It didn’t. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore. How the hell am I supposed to get over this, over you, when I realised that you’re all I’ve ever wanted?”

Jisung was rambling, word vomit just spewing from his lips but once he had started, there was nothing within him that could get him to stop. It was almost like he had forgotten who he was speaking to, that this was just another instance where he was talking to himself about his feelings for the Warlock since he didn’t have anyone to turn to on a subject like this. Seungmin knew, of course but Jisung refused to unload the problems of his nonexistent love life on the young man who already had enough of his plate. 

Then, that little switch in the back of his mind that had prevented him from ever revealing his true desires towards Minho was suddenly flipped, Jisung having absolutely no control over what was coming out of his mouth. It felt like he had been removed from his body, hovering above it as the words of yearning no longer wished to take residence in the corners of his soul, seizing their chance to break free while Jisung was in such a vulnerable position. 

For now, Jisung would blame it all on the inner walls that had been protecting his heart slowly crumbling down because of Minho’s loving care and his intense vulnerability. Later, he could blame it upon his own naive stupidity. 

“But how could I ever tell you about it? There is no way I could ever live with myself if you hated me because of this. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t, not my best friend. I don’t want to do all of this on my own, without you. I did everything I could to make it go away. I swear I didn’t mean to fall in love with you. This wasn’t how it was meant to go. It was never meant to turn out this way.”

There it was. It was all out in the open now. Jisung couldn’t take it back, no matter the consequences. This was not how it was supposed to happen. It wasn’t supposed to happen _at all_ but it had and when the realisation hit Jisung, he felt like he would never be able to breathe properly again, eyes widening when he realised that these thoughts were not remaining in his head like they would usually do but were currently reaching the ears of the one person who was not supposed to hear them. 

And when Jisung felt Minho’s arms loosen around his waist and his body go rigid beneath his trembling one, the Shadowhunter thought to himself,  _ ‘Ah, I knew it, I’ve screwed all of this up. I can’t believe I’ve ruined this. He’s going to leave me behind now.’ _

Which, really, Jisung couldn’t blame him for but at the same time, he would do practically anything, give his soul away to the devil, if it meant that Minho would keep holding him like he had been, like he would have protected him from every evil the world had to offer. 

“Wow, I finally said it out loud,” Jisung laughed, pain dotting each syllable as he once again rose from Minho’s chest. “Attribute it to my brain being so muddled at the moment. Sorry, just ignore me. You might as well start now.” 

Maybe Minho wouldn’t end up hating him, if he was lucky but there was no way he was going to want to stay by his side now that he had professed his love. Nari had told him that day in the park, how it was that as soon as Minho would find out that one of his partners had developed feelings for him, he would drop them without hesitation, not interested in continuing such a relationship if they were expecting it to actually head somewhere meaningful. Now, Jisung was right there with all the rest of them that had been pushed aside because of his love. 

“In love? With me?” 

Jisung thought, on occasion, that he may not have hidden his feelings all that well, that maybe Minho might have picked up on something with regards to how he felt and it used to scare him immensely but from the surprised hesitance in the Warlock’s voice, it seemed to Jisung that he had done a rather good job in veiling his feelings all this time. 

“Yeah, have been for a while now,” Jisung sniffled, figuring that, if Minho was going to abandon him, he may as well get every bit of the poison out of his system now. “And I know that’s not what we agreed on when we got together but I ended up falling for you a few months back. I couldn’t stand seeing you with your other hook ups, it began to hurt too much, so I ended it to try and ward off my jealousy. You’re better off without someone like me in your life, trying to have you all to myself when that’s not what you want. I’m sorry, Min.” 

The silence that Jisung had been sitting in before Minho had arrived had once again made itself present, encapsulating both young men, neither of them deciding to ask it to leave by making a sound. 

Minho had always been the person outside of his family that Jisung had felt most comfortable. With Changbin and Woojin, there was always a little part of him that felt like he had to fit into a certain role sometimes when he was with them, be the Shadowhunter that he was required to be. With Minho? Jisung never had to hide who he was. That was just the kind of friendship that they always had and Jisung knew that he would sorely miss it now that he had destroyed everything. 

But when Minho’s lithe fingers began to sweep Jisung’s hair away from his forehead, delicate brushes across his skin causing goosebumps to rise of the Shadowhunter’s arms, he began to think that maybe, just maybe, the worst possible outcome for this whole debacle may not have been something that he had to consider. 

“You seem awfully sure that you know what it is that I want,” Minho sighed heavily, his fingers finding their way back to the younger’s hair, twirling it around his fingers in a way that only made Jisung more anxious. “Oh god, this is not how I wanted things to go. This isn’t the time to be talking about this at all but…” 

Jisung could only suspect that Minho was referring to the fact that they were currently waiting outside the room where their friend was doing his best to fight through darkness keeping him away from them and while he was of the same mindset, Jisung had to know exactly where Minho was going with this. He didn’t want to run away anymore.

“Do you really not know why I didn’t answer your call, Sung?” 

He called him Sung. Minho was still using his nickname, even after he had come to know about Jisung’s affection. Maybe he wanted to let Jisung down easily, so that he didn’t hurt him too much but the lack of annoyance in the Warlock’s voice allowed the Shadowhunter to regain a little bit of hope that he thought had escaped him. Shaking his head to indicate that he had no idea, because he really didn’t, Jisung waited patiently for Minho’s explanation that he had been unwilling to hear earlier. 

“It was because I needed some time away from you.” 

And those words just about dashed the optimistic faith he had just recaptured again. He really needed to talk to whoever was running his brain and berate them for constantly giving him hope that Minho might actually have come to like him over the time they had been together, only to have them take it away again.

“I needed some time away, I didn't want to speak to you because I knew if I did, I’d end up blabbing about all of my feelings, even after you said you were done with our relationship.” 

Feelings? What feelings? There were feelings? Minho had feelings? For him? As in, not just platonic ones? Jisung’s head was spinning, trying to figure out another possible meaning that Minho could be trying to articulate. He needed to figure out another explanation because he was tired of creating unrealistic expectations on a topic that he had held so close to his heart for such a long time. 

“When you ended it, you said it was because you were tired of running around and trying to hide our relationship from people. That it was too much trouble and I’ll admit, I was pretty devastated,” Minho conceded, his hands falling to rub along Jisung’s thigh instead in a way that he always knew would make the younger feel calm. 

“You were? Why?” 

“Cause I’m absolutely crazy about you, Sung.” 

If there was supposed to be another implication for that kind of expression, then Jisung didn’t know what it was. In fact, he didn’t want to hear it. He could hear the sincerity in the Warlock’s words, could see it in his eyes when Minho looked at him like he was the only light left in an increasingly dark world. 

“I think I figured it out maybe a month or two ago but I wasn’t entirely sure what it was I was feeling. To be fair, I’ve never felt it for anyone else before. Or I was just too stubborn to accept what my heart was trying to tell me.”

What Minho was describing was something that Jisung had experienced himself. In the beginning, Jisung had no problem in agreeing to the terms that Minho had set out for their little risqué adventure but as time went by, when Jisung got to see that side of Minho that he had never seen before, a new feeling had started to blossom in his chest. He was unsure what that feeling was too but when he began to liken it to those romance stories he used to watch or read, he finally understood. 

“Listen, I’ve spent the last few decades believing that I was happy with never finding one single person to spend my life with, that this type of lifestyle suited me but after we started seeing each other, for the first time in my life, I started to doubt it.” 

Jisung simply being himself had been enough to make Minho question his whole lifestyle choice, that hopping from one person to another wasn’t what he wanted. He was enough, even when Jisung thought he could _never_ be enough for the Warlock. 

“To see if my theory checked out, I found myself trying to spend as much time as I could with any other girl or guy that wasn’t you and I-” Minho began, though he stopped himself when he saw the hurt in Jisung’s eyes at the mention of other people in an instance like this. “No, sorry, don’t take that to mean- look, it’s not important. What I meant to say was, no matter how much time I spent with anyone else, all I could think about was you.” 

Hearing people talking on the other side of the door leading to the Institute, Jisung realised what it would look like if someone were to walk in and see him seated in Minho’s lap, one hand continuously caressing his thigh as the other had moved up to rub up and down his waist. It had been a position that Jisung didn’t think he would ever be in and it would take a hell of a lot to make him move, even if it made someone catch onto what was actually happening. 

“But…if you’re not interested in other people, how come you’re still fooling around with them?” Jisung asked with the small bit of courage he had managed to muster up through the disbelief that was consuming him. 

Maybe it was the most pertinent question to ask but it was the one that interested the Shadowhunter the most. If Minho was telling the truth, something Jisung was still doubtful about, that this all wasn’t just some messed up joke, then it wouldn’t make any sense that he would still be playing around with his lengthy lists of casual contacts. 

“Sung, I haven’t been with anyone else in about a month,” Minho promised, seeing Jisung’s eyebrows shoot up in amazement. 

Lee Minho, the biggest playboy in Seoul, hadn’t been with anyone but Jisung in a month? It wasn’t unusual to see Minho with two different people in the same week and if he held onto one for more than ten days, it was truly some sort of miracle but Minho said that Jisung had been the only one he had seen in a month? 

“Didn’t you catch onto the fact that I was asking you to spend more time with me?” 

Jisung had. He had questioned why Minho had been calling him over more frequently, asking him to come over for dinner, bringing him outside of the apartment for get togethers. Jisung had questioned it but he never imagined the answer would be something like this. 

“Well, what about Nari?” 

“What about her?” Minho wondered confusedly, obviously perplexed as to why the other Warlock was coming up in an instance like this. 

“That night when we went to the bar, when she sat down with us, she was all over you and you flirted right back. It was clear to anyone what she wanted and you didn’t push her away.”

It still hurt to think about, the beautiful Warlock with her hands all over Minho, touching him like Jisung hadn’t been sitting right in front of them. He really wasn’t into watching that sort of thing, especially when Minho seemed to be all for it. 

“Wait, is that why you left the bar? When I ran after you? Oh, Sung, no, it wasn’t like that.” 

“Sure looked like it to me,” Jisung hit back, trying to squirm away from the Warlock’s touch, not really trying all that hard since Minho only needed to tighten his hold a little before Jisung settled himself down again. “And I saw the text she sent you the morning after. I know I shouldn’t have looked but still, she said you mentioned that you would meet up with her again.” 

Jisung really didn’t mean to sound so accusatory. Minho wasn’t his when Nari had tried her luck with him. Hell, Minho wasn’t his now either. But out of everyone else that the Warlock had been with, Nari was the only one he had ever spoken to and man, he really did not get along well with her. 

“Seems like I have a bit of explaining to do. Sung, that night when I ran back to grab my jacket, I told Nari that I would be leaving with you and she got real defensive, real quick. I think she caught onto the fact that I just wanted to be with you.” 

From their little interaction in the park, Jisung could now see that Nari probably  _ did  _ know that Minho was more interested in him than her, which is probably why she had been so horrid to him, trying to get inside of his head by telling him that Minho would never love a child like him.

“And when I tried to leave, she grabbed onto me and started making a scene, crying out loud asking how I could leave her like that. To make her stop, I told her that I’d meet up with her another time so she would let me go. That’s it, Sung, I swear.”

Ok, that made sense and he could easily believe that Nari made a fuss about Minho leaving her for someone like him. In Jisung’s opinion, she did seem like a rather hysterical drama queen. That wasn’t being petty or biased because of his situation, it was an observation that would probably be backed up by others, should they be asked. 

“Why did you flirt back then?” the Shadowhunter questioned, beginning to play with Minho’s fingers that were still splayed across his thigh. 

“Because I thought you’d catch on if I didn’t and I was afraid of what your reaction would be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought that if you saw me rejecting someone, you’d ask why I wasn’t acting like my usual self and I’d end up breaking and telling you about how I felt. I was sure you were only interested in a physical relationship and that you’d get freaked out about me wanting something more so I kept up the act to keep my feelings a secret so you wouldn’t leave me.” 

Those kinds of fears sounded strangely familiar to Jisung. Very familiar. Way too damn familiar. It was exactly what Jisung had been afraid of when it came to the idea of confessing his desires to the Warlock. Minho was so notorious for wanting nothing more than a physical relationship that it made sense that Jisung would be concerned with that possibility but never in a million years did Jisung ever think that Minho would come to worry about something like that. But when Jisung had been trying to give off that impression this entire time, that he hadn’t wanted anything more either, he understood how it was that Minho had come to that conclusion. 

“While I was unsure if my feelings were certain, it all came together the morning after we came back from the bar,” Minho recalled, absentmindedly playing with one of the silver earrings dangling from Jisung’s left ear. “It was the first morning that you weren’t gone before I woke up. You were still asleep, just lying in bed next to me and it was then I was certain that I wanted to wake up with you next to me every morning.”

Screw every romantic movie he had ever watched because they were nothing compared to hearing that Minho wanted to awaken to his sleeping face every day. Jisung couldn’t help but absolutely melt when he heard something like that leave Minho’s lips, something so delicate and warmhearted and it had been directed at him. 

“You were so gorgeous, Sung. You looked so peaceful with the sun creeping through the curtains and illuminating your face and I knew, that was it. To be honest, after I sent Bin the message to say you were with me and started making you breakfast, I actually contemplated telling you about how I felt. I really did but then I went to take a shower and by the time I got back, you were gone. I pretty much got the message that you weren’t interested in staying around with me. Kind of made me feel a little cheap and used that you just left me like that.” 

Jisung had to question why it felt like he was talking to himself at this stage. Every morning that he would leave Minho’s apartment, sneaking around so that the Warlock didn’t hear him leave, he would too feel indecent and slightly exploited, even when he was the one that had put himself in that position. But he had made Minho feel that way with his actions too.

“Fuck, Min, that wasn’t my intention. I was going to stay but then I saw the message from Nari and I couldn’t handle the thoughts of you being with her, so I left. And the only reason I used to leave so early in the mornings was because I had to get back before anyone knew I was missing.” 

Minho seemed to accept Jisung’s explanation, bobbing his head in a forgiving kind of manner but reasoning also made the Warlock’s expression harden a little bit too.

“That was the other thing that made me hold back. You didn’t want anyone here to know about us and I didn’t think I could handle being with someone who was ashamed of me.”    


Jisung really had thought of himself as the only victim in this whole mess but hearing something like that from Minho made him realise that he had never thought about the elder’s side of the story, that he too could be hurt by how Jisung had tried to protect himself. Because of his insistence about not letting anyone find out about the two of them, he had made Minho think that he had been embarrassed to be linked to someone like him, maybe because of how he had treated his romantic life in the past, that Jisung didn’t want to be seen with someone as promiscuous as Minho. 

But nothing could be further than the truth. 

“Asham- what?! Min, I’m not ashamed of you! Or us! I just- if Bin knew what we were doing, just messing around, I would get a lecture that would last until I was eighty. It had nothing to do with you or who you are,” Jisung promised, finally being the one to make the first move on a loving gesture by cupping the Warlock’s cheeks and smiling as softly as he could. 

While Jisung had spent the last seven months in their strange sort of pseudo relationship, he had known Minho for such a long time and never, in all that time, had he ever seen Minho look so unsure about what Jisung was trying to convey, clearly thinking that the Shadowhutner’s assurances were nothing more than sweetly wrapped lies. 

“I love everything about you. Your eyes, lips, cheeks, nose-” Jisung began but stalled when he realised that he had begun to list out things that simply had to do with Minho’s appearance, things he had probably heard from practically every other person he had ever been with. “I love how intelligent you are, the way you’re so invested in your work and how much you help people, how you care for all of your friends and wouldn’t hesitate to go to the ends of the earth for them. I love how silly your smile is, the way your eyes light up when you read a good book, how you will literally not shut up when you see a cute cat on the street and how crazily you dance when you think nobody’s looking. Everything, Min. I love you for you.” 

“You do?” Minho whispered, a hint of desperation and vulnerability in the Warlock’s voice that Jisung had never heard before. 

And when he thought about it, Jisung realised that most people that he had been with had only been interested in him for his looks. That’s all that Nari had been interested in and those who wanted to be in a relationship with him may not have fallen for his character and personality but simply for his appearance too. Nari wanted him because others had and Jisung could only imagine what kind of relationship could stem from that.

Minho had never been in love before because nobody had ever been in love with him for who he was. He was the constant receiver of advances that he may not have even wanted, people telling him how hot he was. Jisung had seen that first hand at the bar, when numerous people had come over to Minho just because of his appearance and Jisung wondered how often someone complimented his laugh, his talents, his jokes, his mind, his soul. People had used him all his life to sate their own needs, so why wouldn’t Minho have done the same to them?

He had been so confused by what he felt for Jisung because nobody had ever treated him like Jisung had before. He had been in love and didn’t even know it and now, he couldn’t understand that Jisung might just love him back. 

“Completely and utterly. I love you, Lee Minho.”

Jisung would say that again and again, over and over, if it meant that he would get to see the adorably goofy smile that fell upon Minho’s face when he uttered those words. Despite his bravado and confident appearance, Minho had insecurities too, that nobody would care about him for who he truly was but Jisung would remind him every day for as long as he could, that he loved him inside and out.

“I don’t know how it took me so long to figure this out. I must have been really blind. I love you too, Han Jisung.” 

It was such a natural progression, where it was they would go from here. It was like an invisible pull, when Jisung lowered his head just enough to be in front of Minho’s face, breath mingling together before the Warlock took the lead, closing the rest of the distance to join their lips. 

Neither of them were strangers to kissing, especially not with each other but Jisung could say for certain that they had never shared anything like this before. Lust had always fueled their movements on every occasion, not leaving them any time to feel something more, not that either of them ever wanted to wait but this was entirely different. 

Minho’s lips moved slowly against Jisung’s, like they had all the time in the world to appreciate this moment, like the clock had stopped just for them to allow the young men to truly fall apart in each other’s arms. Slowly winding his arms around the Warlock’s neck, Jisung finally erased every single doubt he had about Minho not feeling what he did because there was no way someone could fake this kind of sweetness. Even though it was soft, shy, chaste, it was more thrilling than any time he had kissed Minho before because it actually meant something. 

For the first time, Jisung knew he was the only one in Minho’s eyes, the only one in his heart and it made him feel a way that he didn’t think he’d ever feel when he was with the Warlock. 

Minho loved him. 

Minho  _ loved  _ him and while it was a hell of a lot different than the fantasies inside of his head when Minho would declare his feelings, this was so much better because it was raw, undeniable and absolute. The sensation of Minho’s lips continually brushing against his made a tingle run down Jisung’s spine, one he hoped he would feel again and again, as much as he possibly could. 

When Minho finally pulled away, Jisung doing his best to chase his lips, the Warlock chuckled lowly, tapping the younger’s nose to halt him in his attempts. 

“So, am I to understand that the only reason we haven’t been together before this was because of a string of misinterpretations?”   


“What a clichéd trope to fall into, right?” Jisung scoffed, burying his face into Minho’s neck, thinking that if the Warlock wouldn’t let him leave kisses upon his lips, then he would leave them upon his throat instead. 

“So, where do we go from here?” Minho asked, shuddering a bit when the Shadowhunter’s breath tickled his skin, never having to deal with the results of declaring his love before. 

“What do you want to do, Min?” 

“I want you, Sung. You and only you. I’ll prove to you that I can change and that I can commit to you in every way possible. I’ll do it for you, I’ll do anything for you. Like you said, you’re my best friend too and I don’t really want to imagine living my life without you in it. I’ll change for you, Sung. I pro-”

Figuring it was the only way to stop his rambling, Jisung straightened himself and surged forwards, leaving a small peck on the Warlock’s lips before breaking into soft laughter. 

“I believe you, Min. I know I can trust you. Always have, always will,” Jisung assured, placing another kiss to the elder’s forehead, making Minho sink back into the seat even further. “And you know, if you want, since you don’t use it for anyone else, you can call me that, maybe.” 

Rubbing up and down Jisung’s back, Minho didn’t quite understand what the younger meant but he soon picked up on it when he thought back on what he had called Jisung earlier. 

“What? Baby?” 

Squirming in the Warlock’s lap, Jisung couldn’t help but whine at the nickname. Admittedly, he would have had the same reaction the first time but he had been too caught up in his emotions. Plus, he hadn’t thought that Minho had actually meant it but now, it seemed to have the desired effect, something which Minho obviously picked up on when a cocky sort of laugh, one Jisung had heard on numerous occasions, tumbled from his lips. 

“You like that, baby?” Minho cooed, snickering again when Jisung hit his chest with another embarrassed whimper. “Sungie baby. My pretty baby. My incredibly gorgeous, brave, intelligent, wonderful baby.” 

With a frustrated groan, Jisung harshly punched Minho’s chest, laughing lightly when the Warlock huffed in pain, complaining that Jisung had brought all of this upon himself. 

“I never got to tell you about all the things I love about you, did I?” Minho snickered, holding the Shadowhunter close, swearing that he could feel an excessive heat against his neck as the younger’s cheeks flared red at the question. 

“No, I don’t believe you did.”

“Well, we can’t have that. Let’s see,” the Warlock sighed as he cleared his throat. “I adore how brave you are, how you’ll run into a fight to protect innocents at a second’s notice. I love much you feel, how emotional you get over the smallest things that others wouldn’t think about. It shows how much you care. It amazes me how talented you are, how you’ll pick up anything you set your mind to in a flash. I’m crazy about the way you’ll belt out a song at the top of your lungs no matter where you are but it doesn’t matter because your voice is magical. I love your adorable little cheeks that I could kiss all day long.” 

And that’s just what Minho did, gathering the younger’s face up in his hands and playfully pecked every inch of his face that he could, making Jisung fall into a fit of giggles, a drastic improvement in his overall mood from when Minho first arrived. 

“I’m eternally thankful that you’ve shown me that I can be loved for who I am, that I am _worthy_ of being loved for who I am. I’m grateful that you are willing to share your heart with me and I’m so sorry that I hurt you and that it took me so long to figure what all of this meant for us.”

Jisung had long let go of his anger that had been casting a shadow over him earlier on in the evening, telling Minho there was nothing to forgive, placing his head upon the elder’s heart to lull him into a peaceful state.

In silence, they sat, Minho’s heartbeat being enough to make Jisung feel like he had no troubles in the world and if any strife should seek him out, Minho would surely protect him from it. He was more than happy to sit here for as long as he could, forgetting about the outside world for just a little while longer. 

“It isn’t really the time to be happy about this, is it?” 

And while he hated to admit it, Jisung knew that Minho was right. Despite how thrilled he was to hear the words he had longed to hear from the Warlock for months, it was most certainly not the time to have such a celebration in his heart. 

His overjoyed smile fell just that little bit when he remembered where he was,  _ why  _ it was that they were sitting in the long, bright hallway that smelled of strong disinfectant. 

"No, it really isn't," Jisung whispered quietly. 

“We’ll talk about everything a little more when Wooj wakes up, alright?” 

Jisung slowly nodded, simply content that he was being cradled in Minho’s caring embrace in such a trying time. He didn’t want to be a burden on others since everyone was doing their best right now to try and deal with the situation but if Minho was willing to be his anchor and not let him float away into the darkness, then Jisung was more than ok with that. 

“For now, Sung. You need to shower and get out of those clothes.” 

“What?! No! I can’t go anywhere. I can’t leave Wooj. What if he needs me? What if something happens while I’m gone? I can’t-”

“Sung, baby, relax. Ten minutes, that’s all it will take. We’ll get you clean, into some comfy sweats and come straight back here. Maybe we can bring Bomi back so you can cuddle with her. Would that be ok?” 

Jisung knew that he should take the clothes covered in his friends' blood off and throw them in the trash; he would never be able to wear them again after this. He was uncomfortable and the smell was getting worse by the minute and he would do everything as fast as he could to make sure he got back to Woojin quickly. 

“Will you stay with me?” Jisung faltered, unsure as to whether or not he was asking too much of Minho too quickly since they had just begun their whole…legitimate relationship, if that’s what he were to call it. 

Seeing Minho shift forwards, Jisung felt a small peck upon his nose, feeling a small blush brighten up his cheeks as Minho lifted him up before placing him back down on his feet. 

“Always, Sungie. C’mon, baby. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You see? In the midst of the angst, I will throw you a little bit of happiness. Minsung finally getting their shit together.   
Next week we have some Changbin content and more Minsung and I actually really loved writing it so I hope you'll like it too.   
I hope everyone is taking care of themselves and staying safe. See you next week! ❤


	42. Temerity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. How many of you were actually surprised by the softness last week? Don't worry, I'm not immediately going back to the angst. That comes later. Oh and thank you guys so much for 20k views! Enjoy!

“How many patrols are still out?”

“Five teams of two and three teams of four. Things seem to have died down a lot so they should be making their way back to us soon,” Yugyeom supplied, tapping away on his keyboard while giving Changbin the rundown of the operation. 

It had been nearly five hours since he had returned to the Institute, walking from one complete shitstorm into another. The migraine currently pounding against his skull was doing nothing to curb the inane stress that was causing him to become more irritated by the second. Since Woojin was indisposed and Yunseok had fucked off to his office, that left Changbin to take charge of the remaining patrols that would soon be ending. Of course, nobody had forced him to do so but it was a responsibility someone had to take on and, in a way, it was a great source of distraction from worrying about how Woojin was doing. 

Seungmin and Jeongin were currently in front of a cluster of monitors, doing what Changbin had assigned to them and trying to review if there were any more demons being reported in new areas but, luckily for them, there were only a handful more that they watched be eviscerated by the remaining groups still outside. 

In the numerous times Changbin had turned his head to check on the two youths, he noticed that Seungmin hadn’t bothered to wipe the remnants of his tears off of his face. Once he had finally decided to tell the redhead about Woojin’s condition, he had full on sprinted to the medbay, only to be met with a non-verbal Jisung who couldn’t answer any of his desperate questions. Between this and his whole ordeal with Hyunjin, it was apparent that he could no longer hold back on the tears he had tried to deny. It had taken a whole ten minutes for him to stop, with Jeongin continually hugging and scenting him trying to calm him down. It had worked, to an extent but Seungmin had become awfully quiet after that. 

Changbin was worried about him but that problem was momentarily pushed aside when Minho came barrelling through the front doors of the Institute, cell phone in hand displaying the string of messages that Jisung had sent him earlier in the night. Right now, he didn’t want to get into a whole thing about where he had been, not that he would get the chance since the Warlock immediately bombarded him with questions about what happened, if anyone had been hurt, apologising for not answering sooner and when Changbin had told him the gist of what happened, he immediately took off towards the med bay, saying he was going to check on Jisung, which Changbin was grateful for. Of all the people that could possibly comfort the younger Shadowhunter at the moment, Changbin knew that Minho, being Jisung’s best friend, would probably have the best chance of success. 

And as he gave Yugyeom directions on how to proceed with the remainder of the patrols, he felt a dangerous aura invading his space, one that let him know as a kid that he should run for the hills. A strong thump on the table beside him made Changbin flinch in place, catching the fuming face of his mother out of the corner of his eye. He had only quickly spoken to her after Woojin’s surgery had been completed, hearing the bittersweet news that he was stable for the time being but that there had been a hell of a lot damage done to his body. For his angelic blood to start healing him at a faster rate, Woojin needed to build up energy and Changbin just prayed that his body held up until then. His own heart had nearly given out when he heard that Woojin had crashed twice during the surgery, thankful that Mina and the rest of her team had fought to bring Woojin back to them. 

Of course, while it had been distressing for Changbin to hear about what had happened to his brother when he was out of reach, Areum actually had to be by Woojin’s side and watch his heart stop not once, but twice. He had always been Areum’s son just as much as Changbin was since she had taken over Hana’s motherly duties for her after she had passed. And to see him like that… 

She had been busily running around the Institute trying to keep some order and had just come back from checking on Woojin’s condition but it seemed like seeing him in such a state again had reignited the unsettled agitation of not being able to protect someone that had always been under her care. 

Reaching over to take Areum’s hand to try and abate some of her anger, Changbin gave a gentle squeeze, making the woman look at her son with such a discernible anger, her eyes full of a scorching flame. He thought that she would maybe give into the melancholy but when Changbin thought about it, he couldn’t remember a time where he had seen his mother cry but that wasn’t because she thought that tears were a weakness. 

‘Emotions are meant to be felt,’ that’s what Areum had always told Changbin, that exposing a vulnerable side to yourself proved that you were human. She truly believed that and while she was most certainly struggling with what was happening, her anger seemed to be trumping her longing to weep over the situation, made even more clear when she left go of Changbin’s hand and started pacing behind him. 

“_How _ could he do something so reckless? How could he go out on a patrol by himself? Is that not one of the first things we teach you kids? That you are _ never _to try and take on demons, especially a horde, when you are alone?” 

Changbin was acutely aware that the root of her anger had not stemmed from Woojin’s actions but it was certainly being fuelled by it them at the moment. 

“Mom, you know that he was coming to meet up with us. That’s what he told Yugyeom. He didn’t have any intention of fighting by himself,” Changbin reasoned but to convince a mother on the prowl, he was going to have to try a lot harder than that. 

“Then how did he end up in that alleyway by himself, hmm? You obviously weren’t down there and when I spoke to Chan, he told me that it was only Woojin’s scent down there other than the demons, meaning that he didn’t go to help someone either. It was reckless and foolish and if he wakes up-”

The volume of Areum’s voice had been gradually rising as she declared her true feelings on Woojin’s actions with a rant filled with wrath but when the possibility of one of her boys not coming out of this mess alive overtook her words in her turbulent rambling, it made her immediately snap her mouth shut, taking a breath to calm herself before her voice returned to normal. 

“_ When _…when he wakes up, he is going to get a very stern talking to.” 

And Changbin didn’t doubt that for one second. Woojin would probably get the talking to of his life when he woke up. Because he would. Woojin would absolutely wake up from this. He had too many things to do, so many people who he couldn’t leave behind, his whole life ahead of him. He couldn’t give up now.

“He’ll be ok, Mom. He’ll get through this.” 

Areum vehemently agreed with a nod of her head, tentatively clasping her hand over her mouth as the dangerous and distressing possibilities threatened to make her never before seen tears fall. 

Fixing it the only way he knew how, Changbin abandoned his post for a moment, reaching out for his mother and wrapping his arms around her. The size difference would almost be amusing since Changbin had built up a hell of a lot of muscle in the last year and had overtaken Areum in height. Not that it made a difference really because Areum could still easily take him down in a fight should he be idiotic enough to get into one with her. But it seemed that the gesture was appreciated when she returned the embrace, placing a comforting hand on the back of his head, threading her fingers through her son’s unruly hair before placing a loving kiss to the side of his head as thanks for attempting to soothe her worries. 

“Does Yunseok know yet?” 

Usually, using the man’s name outright like that without any title would have gotten Changbin a warning sort of look from his mother since respect was something she highly valued when it came to seniority, especially when addressing someone in the Clave but this time, Areum made no move to scold her son over lack of honorifics. 

“No, he went to his office earlier to speak with members of the Clave about the situation and I haven’t been able to bring myself to tell him,” Areum stated. 

Changbin really wondered if his mother thought that Yunseok would have the same kind of reaction she did about Woojin’s condition since she was hesitant to tell the man of how his son was on the brink of death. Then again, even though Areum was still unaware of how Yunseok had torn Chan and Woojin apart all those months ago since Changbin hadn’t had the time to let her know, it wasn’t Yunseok’s emotional state that the woman seemed to be worried about when she hadn’t told him about what had happened. 

“Because if I go to his office and see him after he sent Woojin out by himself, my blade may very well find itself lodged in his throat.” 

Areum was never one to be so descriptively graphic but for a threat like that, Changbin thought there was just the right amount of menace within her words. 

Parting from their much needed hug, Changbin looked behind himself towards the screens, thankful to see that the red dots that signified demon sightings had almost completely disappeared, courtesy of those out fighting on the eclipsed streets of Seoul. Things were finally beginning to quieten down, a long night finally coming to an end allowing them to rest. 

“Excuse me, could you please tell me where I could find Changbin?”

Or so he thought. 

At the mention of his name, Changbin tilted his head towards the silvery sweet voice that hadn’t held such jittery quavers the last time he had heard it. He had never expected to hear it really, especially within the walls of the Institute and definitely not because of these kinds of circumstances. 

“Callie?”

The Faerie’s pointed ears immediately jerked at Changbin’s call, running away from Dahyun with whom she had been speaking but not before giving the violet haired woman a small bow of thanks for stopping to speak with her. 

“Ah, thank goodness. I was worried that I may not have been able to find you,” Callie chattered in relief but as she drew closer, Changbin saw the small scratches across the Faerie’s cheek, a large rip across the bodice of her dress. 

Before Changbin could even ask what happened, Areum was ahead of him, taking the other woman’s hand and leading her to a spare seat to the side of the room. 

“Callie, dear, what are you doing here? How did you get those scratches on your face?” Areum asked, reaching for one of the many first aid kits they kept around the Institute since cuts and scrapes were a more than regular occurrence.

“I’m fine, I just ran into a couple of demons on the way here but I immobilised them with relative ease.”

That explained her injuries since the Faerie had no doubt used her magic to incapacitate the demons that had continually been trying to kill any person, Faerie or not, that came across their path. What it didn’t explain was what Callie was doing here in the middle of the night, coming to their Institute in an obvious sort of panic. 

“It’s Felix.”

And though he didn’t want to admit it, Felix’s wellbeing had been the only feasible excuse for Callie’s presence when Changbin thought about it. But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to entertain the idea that someone else close to him, the person who had practically overtaken his heart, may be in harm's way. There was no way that this was a coincidence, all of this happening at the same time.

“What about him? Is he alright? Why isn’t he here with you?” Changbin challenged, already at his wits end and thinking that if he managed to maintain any pretense of sanity by tomorrow, he would be doing well.

“I fear that he is in danger,” Callie yelped when Areum dabbed the scratches with disinfectant, receiving an apologetic smile for her troubles. “I have no proof, of course but the Queen wouldn’t let me speak to him. She never denies me that but there’s something else, something in my heart that tells me that everything is not as it seems. I attempted to go to the court for myself but I was told by the guards that I would be killed should I try to go back. I’m terribly worried for him. I was just curious…as to whether you could help me in some way.”

Changbin wasn’t entirely sure in what way he could actually help since Fae problems were a lot more complicated due to their beliefs and the fact that the Seelie Queen ruled over every part of the dominion, her word practically being considered law but if it was for Felix, to make sure that he was safe, Changbin would tear the Queen’s court apart without leaving a single soul alive to tell the tale. 

“I realise that I am asking a lot of you, to go to the Fae realm since it could cause some problems diplomatically but…I apologise, I just didn’t know what else to do.” 

“Hey, hey, none of that,” Areum interjected, grabbing onto the Faerie’s hand. “Of course you can always come to us for help. That is not just being said as a Shadowhunter to a Faerie but as one friend to another, as one mother to another. Anytime, Callie, alright?” 

Thanking the gods for his mother, Changbin fiercely agreed with Areum’s sentiments. Many Downworlders would hesitate when asking for assistance from Shadowhunters, seeing as many had experienced some form of intolerance in their lifetime. Woojin had been all about changing their outlook but Callie had been in this world much longer than they had, undoubtedly seeing the worst side of humans that they had to offer. Plus, thanks to the Seelie Queen’s teachings, most Faeries wouldn’t dream of running to a Shadowhunter for any reason other than to ridicule them in some way. 

“Callie, even if you’re uncertain, you should always trust your gut on something like this. Of course we’ll help. In fact, I’ll go to the Fae realm right now and see what the trouble is,” Changbin assured, chest puffed out in determination to put out yet another fire that had been set ablaze this evening. 

From the look in Callie’s eyes, she hadn’t come here with a set idea on how Changbin or Areum could help either but upon hearing that Changbin would actually risk going to the Fae realm to retrieve Felix from the inherently evil clutches of the Seelie Queen, she couldn’t help but love the young Shadowhunter all the more, indebted to the gods of nature for allowing him to come into her son’s life. 

“I’ll come with you,” Callie insisted, beginning to fold up the blanket that Areum had draped across her lap when she had finished treating her wounds. 

“No, you stay here. You already mentioned that they threatened to kill you if you went back. You’ll be safe here if you stay with my mom. I can enter the realm on my own.”

He really didn’t think that it was such an outrageous suggestion but when he saw both women stare at him with a look full of pure incredulity, Changbin admittedly took a step back to retreat from their harrowing gazes. 

“You aren’t seriously planning on going there by yourself,” Areum bleated out. 

“Sure I am. Why not? I need to go and make sure Lix is alright.”

“Changbin, this is the Fae realm we’re talking about. You, as a human, can’t just walk in there like you own the place.”

“Pretty sure you were around my age when you sauntered into the Fae realm without any backup, Mom,” Changbin sassed, already moving to get his jacket from where he had thrown it over the back of his chair earlier on in the evening. 

“Yes but I was there to bring Felix back.”

“And I’m going there to get him out. I don’t see what the big deal is.” 

He actually did. Changbin knew that he was walking into enemy territory by going to the Fae realm and that it was a very dangerous place at that but it didn’t matter. His mind was only on Felix at the moment, blocking everything else out, the possibility of his boyfriend joining the ranks of the injured making him move that much faster to grab as many weapons as he could from his locker. He prayed that he wouldn’t need them but better to be safe than sorry. 

“How do you plan on getting in without a Faerie to open the portal for you?” Areum questioned with a triumphant sort of tone, feeling like she had won when Changbin slowed in his steps for just a moment. 

“Well, actually, I never sealed the portal behind me when coming here. The one down by the park should still be open. A mistake on my part.”

There had been one favour allowed to Changbin when Callie’s oversight had just managed to tie his whole plan together to get Felix out by himself.

“But there is a safeguard. After a couple of hours, the portal will automatically close, probably before you manage to return. You won’t be able to get back out without a Fae’s help,” Callie reasoned, instantly zoning in on Areum’s distress since her son was about to walk towards a very menacing threat without really considering the implications of what would happen if his carelessly thought out plan didn’t pan out.

“Felix can let me out when I bring him back.”

“But what if you _ can’t _bring him back?” 

It wasn’t a lack of faith in his abilities when Areum offered up such a negative prospect but a realistic overview. That was one part of the curriculum that had been ingrained into them as youngsters when they were training to be certified to go out on missions as a fully fledged Shadowhunter; considering what would happen if the worst possible outcome were to come to pass. His mother was just being pragmatic and reasonable but even then, Changbin didn’t want to think about the plausibility of returning to the Institute without Felix beside him. 

“Either I come back with Lix or I don’t come back, so not being able to open the portal shouldn’t be a problem for me.” 

Not knowing where this newfound confidence came from, Changbin had just declared to his mother that he would essentially bring Felix back or die trying, no other likeliness apparent in his eyes. 

“I’ll be back as quickly as I can,” Changbin promised, shrugging on a scarf since the bitter winter air was far more prominently whisking around the streets at this hour of the night.

“Changbin, hold on for a moment. You can’t just walk out of the Institute by yourself when there are still demons roaming the streets!”  
  


A fair point since that very thing was what had put one of his best friends on the surgical table earlier on in the night but it was one that Changbin wasn’t all that interested in listening to when Felix could very well need him right now. He had promised to take care of him, that’s what he had told Callie when he had met her for the first time, that he would look after her son and the thoughts of not being able to be there for him was enough to put a bit more haste into his steps as he strode towards the door. 

“I don’t have time for this, Mom. I need to go.”

“Changbin, stop.” 

His mother’s voice became static, mixing in with the humdrum everyday noise that the Institute supplied. It didn’t matter what she had to say, all that Changbin knew was that he had to get to Felix. He could be in trouble, could be in pain and Changbin wasn’t there to make it better. Protect Felix; the only mantra repeating itself within his mind. He would not stand by once again while someone he loved was hurting. Not again. _ Never _again. 

Pulling the door open, Changbin put one foot outside, knowing that the portal to the Fae realm located in the park was nearly a twenty minute walk from here but he could make it in ten since he would run all the way there.

“Seo Changbin, you will not ignore me like this! If you won’t listen to me as your mother, then you will listen to me as your superior and I order you to stop!” 

To pull rank on him like that meant that Areum was more than serious about wanting Changbin to cease his attempts to get away from her without discussing this. Her position never mattered to her; she always said that those of the lowest rank could do just as much good and were just as important as those who sat on the ruling council. So, for her to command Changbin to stop using such a tactic shocked him enough to adhere to her will, turning to face her condemning scowl. 

“You cannot possibly think that waltzing into the Fae realm like this is a good idea.”

“I never said it was a good idea but it’s the only one I have at the moment and I don’t have time to waste to think of something else,” Changbin answered, not meaning to sound confrontational but it was as if Areum didn’t seem to understand the concept of Felix’s wellbeing revolving around a ticking clock. 

“You can’t go by yourself. You just can’t.” 

Getting the feeling that Areum denying Changbin permission to go on such a dangerous venture wasn’t coming from a a senior Shadowhunter but rather seeing it as a plea from his mother’s heart, Changbin knew he needed to take a little bit of time to try and restore her confidence that he would be alright. She was the one who had taught him everything he knew after all. 

“Mom, everyone is needed here in some way or another, to aid in the relief teams, to watch over Wooj and everyone else that is coming back here injured and you are needed to run this place since Yunseok has pissed off despite the fact that he should be on the front lines like everyone else.” 

Maybe Changbin was becoming a bit too brave talking about a member of the Clave like that, coming to the conclusion that he had when Areum held up a warning finger to deter him from doing such a thing again.

“Lix needs me right now, Mom and I am not going to let someone else close to me be hurt because I didn’t do something about it. I'll call in any demons that I see and I won't engage. I am going to the Fae realm. I am going to find Lix and I am going to do whatever I have to do to bring him back with me, consequences be damned.”

Yeah, that was a great thing to say to a leading member of their organisation, a woman who had consistently tried to uphold the Law set out by the founders of the Clave hundreds of years before. But, then again, it wasn’t any use lying to her, saying that he would stick to such strict rules while trying to bring Felix home with him; she would be able to sense if he were to be less than truthful.

And while he was worried that she may order him to stay here, not wanting to go against his mother’s wishes, because that’s exactly what he would have done to get to Felix, it didn’t seem that his concern was needed when the hands that had been gripping her hips fell to her sides, one coming up to find a place over her son’s heart. 

“I know this is something you need to do, Changbin but…” Areum breathed, counting the soft beats of Changbin’s heart to try and get her own to settle. “I just can’t lose you too. Not after losing your dad.” 

No matter what anyone says, getting over the death of a loved one is an impossible thing to do, especially one you had pledged to spend the rest of your life with, one that was taken away from you so suddenly. Things get easier over time and the memories of heartache turn to ones of fondness but you never get over it. 

And Changbin knew that his mother would completely stop functioning if something were to happen to him. He remembered her getting news of her husband’s sacrifice, how she had powered through and tried to immerse herself in work, pretending to be the fearless Shadowhunter that everyone knew she was by saying she was fine and how proud of him she had been. But when the door of her bedroom closed each night, knowing that she had to climb into an empty bed that had always been occupied by two, Changbin knew it was then she had probably allowed her defenced persona to crumble. She didn’t want to go through that again, not by losing the person she had dedicated her whole life to protecting.

Placing his hands over his mother’s, Changbin stared straight into her eyes, doing his best to convey the promise that came deep from within his heart.

“I’ll be back, Mom. I promise I won’t leave you alone. You have to trust me.”

“Stubborn and headstrong, just like him,” Areum stated with a huff and while Changbin remembered his father possessing such qualities, he couldn’t help but think he had more than likely inherited such a disposition from his mother’s genes instead. “He would be so proud of you.” 

“You think?” Changbin wondered, wishing that his father could be here to tell him that himself.

“I do, because I know that I am. He would have no doubt been thrilled at how wonderful of a Shadowhunter you are but if he saw the man you have become, so strong and independent, ready to save the ones you love at all costs, he wouldn’t have been able to hide his pride in you.” 

Changbin wondered if that was true. He was always trying to follow in both of his parents’ footsteps since they had always been the epitome of goodness and virtue in his eyes, ever since he could remember. To hear that Areum was proud of him for doing something like this, doing all he could to make sure Felix would be safe again within his arms, gave him a much needed energy boost that would see him through the night. 

Without another word, Areum reached forwards, circling her arms around Changbin and holding him tight, close to her chest. Despite how much she may have tried to hide it, Changbin could feel the tremoring breaths within her chest, a sure sign that she was anxious about what could possibly happen to her son by the end of the night. 

“Stay safe for me, alright?” 

“I will, Mom. I promise I’ll be back. With Lix. Wait for me, ok?” 

Changbin didn’t say goodbye because he would see his mother again in a few hours when he would return with Felix right beside him. He wouldn’t turn around to see what kind of look Areum had on her face as she watched her son walk away from her, putting himself in mortal peril for the one he loved. In failing to do so, he was unable to see the single tear that broke free from a tormented mother’s eyes, fretful that the day that would soon be coming with the rising of a new sun would not bring her boy back to her. 

* * *

One minute to get to Jisung’s room, four to shower, two to get dressed, one with Jisung sitting on the floor because Minho had yelled at him to at least let him dry his hair with a towel just a little bit. And with that, here they were, back sitting on the couch in front of the med bay, Jisung’s head resting on Minho’s lap as the Shadowhunter breathed softly in his sleep. 

Of course, being the stubborn child he was, Jisung refused to take a nap at first, telling Minho that he wasn’t tired at all. His drooping eyelids told the Warlock otherwise. Minho did his best to dupe the younger into resting, telling him to grab Bomi from where she had been sprawled out on the floor after they had brought her back with them from Jisung’s room and simply lie down for a moment so he would be more comfortable. The Shadowhunter had been so drained that he never even questioned Minho’s intentions, doing so without another word, placing his head on the elder’s thigh while Bomi snuggled safely into his chest. 

Before he dozed off, however, Jisung managed to let Minho know what it was that was causing Chan to remain by Woojin’s side in the ICU. Minho had, of course, questioned it inside of his head, why it was that Chan had offered to stay with Woojin when they had spent the last seven months effectively avoiding each other but when Jisung began to regale the yarn that Changbin had managed to keep hidden from all of them, it became awfully clear to Minho how things had managed to work out in such a way. 

It infuriated him, hearing that Yunseok was to blame for the couple’s suffering but it also worried him because of how perfect it seemed that their little investigation group had caught onto the fact that Shadowhunters were behind the incident ten years ago, that Yunseok had at least known about it too and now, Woojin, the one who had managed to get access to his computer, was fighting for his life in a hospital bed? It could have been a coincidence but in his many years of living, Minho knew that a premeditated plan to cause something like this to happen was more likely, especially after hearing of this evening’s events. 

It had come to the point that Minho knew they would eventually have to tell the others about what they had been doing, investigating the shady underbelly of the Clave but until they were all together, he would keep his mouth shut and wait for Woojin to wake up so that he didn’t unnecessarily delve into something he shouldn’t without permission. 

As the Warlock’s fingers stroked Jisung’s hair, the Shadowhunter had eventually fallen into a peaceful slumber, Minho being thankful that the younger’s mind could at least rest for a short amount of time. Looking at the mousy haired young man holding Bomi close to his chest, the feline producing soft, little purrs, Minho began to feel terrible that he had even considered ignoring Jisung’s calls. 

The younger had been right, of course. If Minho had picked up, they probably would have found Woojin sooner and maybe his injuries wouldn’t have been as severe but never in his wildest dreams would he have considered that something like this would have occurred. 

He thought he had been doing the right thing, blocking out all distractions so that he could get to the bottom of the hidden files that Woojin had entrusted him with. He had been so close too, just about to dive into the precipice of the madness but tiredness had got the better of him and he decided to take the books he had been studying home with him instead and begin anew tomorrow. Of course, that was when he saw the numerous missed calls and text messages from Jisung.

Even as the guilt built up in his chest, hoping that Woojin would wake up soon so that he could apologise personally, he tried to look for some sort of silver lining, thinking that he had at least finally managed to confess the feelings that had been eating him up inside for the last few weeks. 

Bending forwards, doing his best not to disturb Jisung’s rest, the Warlock placed a fond kiss to the Shadowhunter’s forehead, just like he had done all those weeks ago when he had woken up next to Jisung for the first time, hoping it wouldn’t be his last, his feelings locking in place and letting him know that his heart belonged to the Shadowhunter and him alone. Seeing Jisung’s nose twitch at the feeling, Minho gave a small laugh which slowly vanished as he looked over to see feline eyes gazing at him with an almost knowing stare. 

“Don’t you dare look at me like that,” Minho sighed, scratching the top of the Abyssinian cat’s head. “I didn’t know what I felt for him, alright? Don’t pretend like you knew I loved him, _ Jumun _.” 

_ “I mean, it was more than a little obvious.” _

There was always a possibility that Minho was descending into a premature state of madness; Jihoon had always said that all the best Warlocks eventually turned out a little nutty. A random disembodied voice inside of his head wasn’t the worst thing that could happen since Minho knew certain Warlocks that had basically plunged into the deep end when it came to throwing away their sanity, remembering one of Jihoon’s acquaintances who had begun to wear socks on his hands and gloves on his feet. No, a ghostly voice wasn’t a calamity by any means but he got the feeling that said voice that had replied to his complaints hadn’t materialised out of nowhere, his conclusion being confirmed when Bomi had wriggled out of Jisung’s grasp and was now curling around Minho’s shoulders. 

“Did…did you just talk to me?”

_ “You always were a little slow on the uptake, kid. I wonder what it was that Jihoon saw in you. And start calling me Bomi from now on. New start, new name.” _

In normal circumstances, Minho would have leapt up out of his chair in amazement but Jisung was still snoring tranquilly in his lap. There was no possible way for Jumun- Bomi- whatever the hell the Spirit Guide’s name was at this stage, to be speaking with him.

“Hold on!” Minho exclaimed in a whisper, seeing the cat on his shoulders playfully roll her emerald eyes at his surprise. “You can’t be talking to me! Only a Spirit Guide that has tied itself to a Warlock can communicate with…their…wait…” 

_ “Ah, has it finally clicked? Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into?” _

It had clicked but Minho still couldn’t believe it. In his seventh decade on this earth, he never believed that he would ever have a Spirit Guide. Most Warlocks found theirs when they were still in their teens, usually before their twenty first birthday but now, Bomi had decided that Minho was worthy of her help, even after all this time. 

“You chose to tie yourself to me? Why?”

_ “I was always going to choose you after Jihoon. I just wanted to take my time to see how you would handle yourself after he had passed,” _ Bomi purred, bopping Minho’s hair with her paw as if trying to calm him so that he didn’t wake Jisung. _ “So, to monitor your progress but keep myself hidden, I decided to stay with your mate and keep an eye on him instead. Well, after I had completed Jihoon’s final wish and make sure Seungmin was taken care of, that is.” _

His mate. One could only assume she meant Jisung, the young man shifting slightly in his sleep with a small whimper, which Minho quickly quietened with soft whisperings and another kiss to his cheek, hoping that he wasn’t reliving what he had encountered earlier. 

_ “He has cared for you for a long time and to be honest, I was worried that I had made a mistake in choosing you. By not realising how you felt sooner, it hurt him greatly. He constantly believed that he wasn’t good enough for someone like you,” _Bomi scolded as she bounced back down to Jisung, rubbing off of the Shadowhunter’s cheek, making Jisung smile at the feeling, her silky fur no doubt tickling him but not enough to wake him. 

Minho had been so caught up in his own self depreciation on the romance front that he had never really considered Jisung’s feelings. Well, he had, in a way. The only reason he hadn’t said something sooner was because he was trying to be considerate of Jisung’s feelings since he was sure the younger hadn’t been interested in initiating such a relationship with him. He had thought he was doing the right thing all along but according to both Jisung himself and Bomi, he had been too blind to see what had been really going on. 

_ “But you finally managed to gain some clarity and I can now see that you were in the same position as he was. You two idiots were made for one another,” _the cat scoffed and it was then that Minho realised that, while Bomi may be his Spirit Guide now, someone who was to steer him in the right direction in life, she was not required to say everything on her mind in a kind sort of tone. 

“Yah, don’t be so snide. I’m not above locking you in a little cage until you learn to behave yourself,” Minho threatened, though the feline didn’t seem too bothered by the menacing bluff since she was well aware that Minho would never follow through on it. 

_ “I’d like to see you try. Plus, you can’t. You told me it was my job to look after Seungmin and Jisung until this whole mess is sorted out. So, for the meantime, my home will be the Institute. Unless you’re going to tell the boy exactly why you’re taking his cat away from him, you will do no such thing,” _ the cat remarked snarkily, her silvery tone echoing in the Warlock's head. _ “By the way, Minho, he’s a very sweet kid. I like him a lot, so don’t you dare hurt him again.” _

“Min?” 

The third voice joining in on the conversation interrupted their little kerfuffle, the Warlock looking down to see Jisung yawning and rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes. 

“Yeah, baby?”

“Who are you talking to?” Jisung slurred, the previous embarrassment that had come along with the nickname finding itself thrown aside.

As much as he hated to admit that he was currently losing the mental sparring match with a cat, Minho knew that Bomi was right when he couldn’t exactly tell the Shadowhunter that he had been conversing with her without revealing the whole plot they had been working so hard to keep a secret. 

“Nobody, Sung. Are you feeling a little bit better after your nap?”

“Mmm, still sleepy,” the younger mumbled, moving from his previous position to sit in Minho’s lap once more, clinging to the Warlock like a koala and closing his eyes like he was about to nod off again. 

Minho couldn’t actually fathom how it had taken him so long to see how much it was that Jisung meant to him. There had been one or two dreams over the last couple of months that had obviously been his brain trying to tell him that he was meant to be with the Shadowhunter. Ones of a sunny Sunday evening, Minho reclining on a checkered yellow and rose coloured picnic blanket, a copy of Shakespeare’s sonnet 18 in his hands as the summer breeze flowed through his hair. And, of course, Jisung had been right alongside him, snuggled into his side, asking the Warlock to read to him. Yeah, Minho should have definitely picked up on it sooner. 

Nuzzling into Jisung’s still damp hair, Minho decidedly chose to ignore Bomi’s tilted head at the affection he was showering on the younger. It was peaceful, something that Minho could definitely get used to but, as it always did when it came to them, their peace had to be distrubed. 

At the sound of a keycard sliding through the door, both Minho and Jisung turned towards the noise, their relaxed state was morphed into one of vigilance as Yunseok walked through, towards the room that Woojin was currently resting in. As he strode down the hallway, he didn’t even register the two young men’s presence but it was clear that Jisung wasn’t going to be ignored like that, jumping to his feet and blocking Yunseok’s path to his goal. 

“Jisung? What are you doing? Get out of my way,” Yunseok chastised, sidestepping the young man, only for Jisung to move along with him, causing Yunseok to stop again. “Jisung, I will not say it again. I heard that my son is injured and that Chan is with him. I am going to assess his injuries and see what else can be done. Now, move.” 

“Or what?” 

“Excuse me?” 

Yunseok seemed to be truly amazed at Jisung’s backtalk. It wasn’t because he had never done it before but Woojin had been overly adamant in the last couple of months about Jisung not giving Yunseok a reason to get angry; not that Jisung had known the cause. But now that he was aware of the reason, he had no intention of holding back.

“I’m not letting you anywhere near that room. You are not going to see Woojin. He has made it through surgery and is in a stable condition. Areum will be intermittently checking on him to make sure he’s doing ok. That’s all you need to know. But do you really care?” Jisung retaliated, standing his ground, his need to protect Woojin this time around overcoming everything else. 

“You have three seconds to get out of my way, Jisung or so help me-”

“Threatening me, Yunseok? Well, I hear that’s not a new occurrence for you,” Jisung snapped, feeling Minho walk up behind him and place a comforting hand on his back, the Warlock being tremendously proud of Jisung’s iron insistence. 

The man seemed to catch onto the implication, the fact that he had tried to put Jisung in harm's way by using him as a pawn in his threat towards Woojin and wondered how it was that the younger had finally managed to hear about it. 

“This is ridiculous,” Yunseok laughed, using a hand to push Jisung aside but being shoved out of the way like that just pissed the youngest off more, grabbing onto Yunseok’s suit jacket to try and halt his movements. 

That was apparently the wrong thing to do when Yunseok swung around with his hand raised in an obvious attempt to smack Jisung across the face for his insolence. Not that he got to do that as Minho immediately created a barrier between Jisung and Yunseok, effectively pushing him away from the young man back towards the door from which he had come. 

“Don’t you dare touch him,” Minho snarled, hearing something crack behind him but choosing to ignore it and keep his eyes on Yunseok instead, lest he decide to try and harm Jisung again. 

“Silence, Warlock! I have had enough of this! I am in charge here! This is my Institute! Now get out of my-!” 

If Minho had one wish in life, he would use it on this moment, just so he could take a picture of the look of pure terror on Yunseok’s face when a low growling radiated from just behind Minho’s legs, the Warlock finally diverting his eyes and looking upon what it was that had scared Yunseok so. 

Swishing tail and eyes boring into his soul, Minho had to suppress a laugh when the Bengal tiger with shining fur made an appearance, doing her job in making Yunseok back off but also scaring the living daylights out of Jisung who began screaming at the sight of the ginormous cat. 

“Why is there a tiger here?! Where did that thing come from?!” Jisung shrieked, jumping onto Minho’s back to escape the beast.

It didn’t quite take Yunseok as long to figure it out, only coming to one logical conclusion as to why there would be an exotic animal here in the middle of Seoul. 

“A Spirit Guide. I assume it belongs to you, Warlock,” Yunseok mumbled but he no longer made a move to get towards the room that he had been so hell bent on getting to earlier, eyes not budging from the ever growling cat.

“My name is Minho, just in case you forgot and uh, yeah, I guess she does.” 

Without even asking her to, Bomi, in her new form, stalked forwards, putting herself between her master and his mate and the threat that she would have no problem in eradicating if he tried to hurt Minho or Jisung again. 

“Well then, tell her to stand down.”

“Um, no, I don’t think I will. Besides, she’s not really the type to listen to me,” Minho snorted in amusement, shrugging when Bomi turned back towards him with an annoyed gaze. 

“This is absurd. Forget it, I have better things to be doing than standing here arguing with you. I’ll come back at another time then,” Yunseok huffed, jumping a little when Bomi lunged forwards at him as a warning to just stay away and not bother coming back. 

It seemed to do the trick as Yunseok sent them one last glare before turning around and disappearing through the exit doors again, with a little stumble in his step as he did so. 

_ “I dislike that man. He reeks of disorder and woe. Best to keep him away from Woojin,” _the ‘much larger than before’ cat roared inside of Minho’s mind, making the Warlock chuckle again. 

“It’s a mutual feeling, don’t worry. Well done on scaring him off though.”

“Have I missed something here?!”  
  


With Jisung still hanging out of his back, fists clawing into the front of the Warlock’s shirt as he hung on for dear life, Minho couldn’t help but coo at the downright confuddled confusion in the younger’s voice.

  
“Since when do you have a Spirit Guide? And where the hell did it come from? As far as I know, they don’t just materialise out of nowhere like this!” 

“Uh, well, it’s a bit of a long story but firstly, have you noticed the absence of a little cat, Sung?”

“Oh my god,” Jisung gasped, with Minho assuming the Shadowhunter had caught onto what was happening but nearly facepalmed when the following sentence left the younger’s mouth. “It ate Bomi!” 

“No, no, no, baby. She _ is _Bomi,” Minho soothed the younger before he freaked out even more than he already was, even as he was already pointing an accusing finger at the tiger. 

“Wait, what?!” 

Minho knew he would have to explain a little bit, just enough to sate Jisung’s curiosity but not to reveal the reason behind why his new Spirit Guide had been seeking residence with him the last few weeks. He would tell him all about how she had belonged to Jihoon and was now serving him. For now, he would say that she decided to look over Seungmin but Minho would tell Jisung that he couldn’t reveal the reason why just yet. He just hoped the younger would be satisfied with such an explanation for now and would promise to reveal everything when Woojin had awoken and they were all back together again. 

As a sort of clarification for Minho’s claims, Bomi realised what needed to be done and quickly transformed back to the form that Jisung had always known her as. The Shadowhunter’s eyes flew wide when the cat hopped back up onto the couch, looking awfully proud of herself for managing to scare Yunseok off just moments prior. 

“Alright, what the hell is going on here?” 

“Sungie, take a seat. I have a few things to tell you, some other things I’ll have to keep to myself but I promise, it will all make sense eventually.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bomi and Areum just doing their best to protect their boys.  
Next week we've got Chan really going through it again but in a slightly good way? And finally, finally, finally, we have Changbin to the rescue! Remember how I said that the previous Minsung chapter was the longest I've written so far? Yeah, next week's chapter is probably about 3500 words longer. Look forward to it and see you then!


	43. Salvation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! A bit of an earlier chapter in celebration because why not? I can do that. Something to read in between listening to the new album. I hope everyone is excited about this comeback. Let's make it a great one. And let's head into the longest chapter yet!

Listening to each irritating tick of the clock on the wall, Chan kept his eyes upon the ceiling, counting the little tiled squares over and over again, despite always getting the same answer. It was a distraction, attempting to divert his wolf’s attention because if he kept having to listen to it howling over the fact that he didn’t do his job and protect Woojin, he would end up ripping his hair out. It could only last for so long though, his neck aching enough that he had to return his gaze to the young man in the bed in front of him. No matter how many times he saw him, even if he was supposedly safe at the moment, Chan would feel his chest tighten at the state Woojin was now in. 

Monitors constantly sounded off with beeps beside him to show that the elder’s heart was still beating, despite it having stopped not once, but twice, during his operation. Areum had told him to stay back no matter what happened but when Woojin had flatlined in front of him, Chan had nearly run forward, not wanting to succumb to the fear that he would have to live his life knowing Woojin was going to leave this world thinking that Chan despised him for something that hadn’t even been his fault. At least, not entirely. 

Chan’s nose subconsciously twitched at the oxygen mask helping Woojin to breathe normally since his body was having a little bit of trouble completing such tasks that one would usually not think about. The room reeked of antiseptic, an unusual metallic stench and the smallest hint of Woojin’s scent that meant the Shadowhunter was still hanging on. It was all screwing with the wolf’s senses, the unmistakable miasma of fatality and Chan hated that it was intercepting the one thing that would never usually fail him. 

Then there was the added fact that if someone were to come in and see Woojin, they may not be able to recognise him from the horrid multicoloured bruises disfiguring his face, the swelling of his eye and lip making the Werewolf wince when he thought of how much the hits that caused those sorts of injuries would have hurt. 

It had been a flurry of action, a whirlwind of tense emotions throughout the night, so much so that he barely had any time to think about anything else but Woojin. Areum had been kind enough to let him know that Jeongin had returned to the Institute safe and sound and was now helping Seungmin out with surveillance. He felt even worse when he hadn’t even thought about how Jeongin had been doing on one of his first real patrols but at the same time, he was thankful that he could trust Jeongin enough to be smart and cautious in a dangerous time such as this. 

Now, he was alone, had been for the past hour or so. Except, of course, for Woojin. The last time she had been here, Areum had also mentioned that there were a few guard dogs outside of the room which had left Chan awfully confused before she explained with a small smile that Jisung was currently asleep, lying down on Minho’s lap, accompanied by a dozing cat too. Chan was relieved to hear that Minho had finally made it back, the worry being that something unsavoury might have happened to him since he hadn’t answered the phone but that didn’t seem to be the case. Knowing that he may need to use the bathroom or call his pack at some stage, Chan’s mind was at ease now that he was aware that Jisung or Minho could take his place and watch over Woojin should it be needed. 

For now, he would not be going anywhere, his protective instincts over the injured Shadowhunter going into overdrive, his wolf not wanting anyone unnecessary near his mate right now, even if Chan was berating the beast inside of him for returning to calling Woojin such a thing when they hadn’t even talked things out. Not that they could when the elder wouldn’t be waking up for some time but Chan thought that, maybe, while he was alone with Woojin, he could voice some of his grievances that had been tormenting him since he learned of why they had been torn apart. 

“I’m not entirely sure how I’m supposed to feel at the moment, Woojin,” Chan hesitated as he swept his hand across his tired eyes. “Honestly, I’m absolutely furious with you. How the  _ hell  _ could you not tell me about what Yunseok threatened to do? That was my pack that psycho was thinking of murdering, my friends that were going to be put in danger and you had no right to keep that from me.” 

Chan’s pack meant everything to him. They were his family. He remembered as a pup himself, when he was in his parent’s pack, how everyone treated one another as blood, willing to do anything for the ones they loved. Of course, only Chan, his parents and his siblings were actually related but none of that mattered. They functioned the exact same way as any other family. There were tense disagreements on occasion and fights that sometimes turned physical but in the end, forgiveness always won and it made them stronger. 

And as a youngster, Chan couldn’t wait to have his own pack, to have his own family that he had picked to be beside him, to help those who may have needed someone to rely on. He spent many nights dreaming about it, to become an alpha like his mom was for their pack and when he was finally old enough, he did everything he could to realise that dream. 

When he learned that someone had threatened those he cared for, he nearly lost himself to his wolf, the turbulent emotions causing him to nearly throw away any rationality and only for Jisung had brought him back to his senses, Chan was unsure as to what he would have done to Yunseok. 

But Woojin had his family too, those he had to protect with every fibre of his being and they had also been threatened by his father, should Woojin tell Chan about what his devious plans were. 

“I know. I know, you wanted to keep Bin and Sungie safe and I would never blame you for that. They’re your family, you’re their big brother and that’s your job. But still…” 

That was the thing that was causing such conflicting emotions to take root and make him unsure as to how he wanted to deal with this whole thing. Chan had his pack, those who he swore to protect and nothing would ever keep him from doing so. But so did Woojin. It wasn’t a ‘pack’ in the same sense but it held the same sort of meaning. Family. Those in Chan’s pack were his family but those at the Institute were Woojin’s. How could Chan ever blame him for doing everything that he could to keep them safe? How could he ever blame the Shadowhunter for sacrificing himself up to his father, enduring months of torment so that his pack wouldn’t have to suffer a truly gruesome fate? 

“You could have trusted me, Woojin. We could have figured something out together. We wouldn’t have had to have been apart these last seven months. All of that time wasted, time where I thought you had become someone that I didn’t know anymore, someone that I couldn’t trust.”   


Chan had been angry, hurt, resentful, wounded and bitter. All of those things contributed to how he had treated Woojin over those last few months. But really, there was the predominant feeling that the wolf had been so overcome by that had shaped his opinion of the Shadowhunter. 

Fear.

A sickening fear that the Woojin that he had fallen in love with had never existed. That everything they had shared had just been a pleasant but passing illusion. That he had just been a plaything to pass the time for a truly shameless young man. That the vulnerability he had shown towards Woojin because of his adoration had been taken and thrown straight back in his face by being told he was no longer loved. It was terrifying to think that he could have been tricked like that for such a long time, that he had been so blinded by his love that he never could have seen the kind of person that Woojin really was. 

Now, he knew better. All this time, he had been used as a puppet by Yunseok, the man pulling his strings anyway he saw fit so that he could further his cause of becoming more influential in the eyes of the Shadow world. Woojin had been his pawn, one molded to serve his father because of what was at risk. 

After the rage had somewhat subsided, a moment of clarity fell upon Chan’s wounded soul, realising that the Woojin he had thought lost, the one that he thought had been nothing more than a fantastical hallucination, was, in fact, who the Shadowhunter had really been all along. And while it had been a relief to Chan, it just meant that Woojin had to create such an act that had no doubt caused him a great amount of pain because, as Changbin had said, he had given up his happiness for them.

And when Chan thought about it, the only thing Woojin had actually given up, was him. 

Chan had been Woojin’s happiness.

“How the hell did you survive, Wooj? Because I nearly didn’t. Carrying such a heavy secret all this time, holding the weight of our safety upon your shoulders? It must have been killing you.”

Holding onto something like that could eat away at you; Chan wasn’t any stranger to keeping secrets when it was so required, like how none of his pack knew about the fact that he had been investigating the Clave with his friends. It didn’t hold the same amount of weight, not at the moment, though Chan believed that too many things were slowly beginning to connect themselves to one another. 

The fact that Woojin had been sent out on a patrol alone and had gotten hurt only a short time after downloading the files that they needed to possibly discover what had really gone down all those years ago was more than a little suspicious and Chan would bet his life upon the fact that people within this very Institute had something to do with the fact that his former lover was laid up in a hospital bed, excessively suffering from his wounds. 

  
“That’s why you need to wake up, so you can answer all of these questions, so we can let your asshole of a father know that he didn’t win this fight, that he failed in keeping his plans a secret. You need to come back so we can talk this out and I can let you know…that I don’t hate you, I never have. I need to tell you that, so if you could just wake up, that would be great. C’mon, Wooj, just…wake up.” 

“I see you’re still here.” 

The wolf’s senses really were on the fritz because he hadn’t heard Areum enter the room, hadn’t smelled her scent, hadn’t noticed her strolling up to his side out of the corner of his eye. He had been so lost in trying to get everything off of his chest to the unconscious young man beside him, trying to let him know that despite what he had told himself and had probably conveyed to everyone else, he didn’t hate Woojin. Regardless of what he had thought, he realised that he tried to keep up the pretense that Woojin was the most hated person in his heart but that had never been true. Grasping that kind of awareness in his hands had knocked the wind right out of the wolf. 

“Did you really think that I would have left?” Chan responded firmly, seeing as how this had been the third time that Areum had come to check on Woojin’s condition and each and every time, Chan had been in the exact same place, in his flimsy, little chair. 

“Would you have blamed me if I had considered it? After all, it’s not like you two have been the closest friends the last couple of months.” 

Clearly, nobody had yet told Areum about what had happened between Woojin and his father all those months ago but Chan wasn’t in the mood to regurgitate everything once again tonight. There was the added danger that he would end up going feral now that he was in the same vicinity as Yunseok if he retold such a casualty again. So, he remained quiet on that particular front. For now. 

“No, I suppose I wouldn’t but I won’t be going anywhere. Not until he wakes up,” Chan promised with such a certain tone that it made Areum stop evaluating the heart monitor beside Woojin and turn with such a pitying smile that it forced Chan to lower his head to the ground. 

“I’m glad to hear that someone will keep an eye on him, even more so that it’s you, Chan. I know I can trust you to keep him safe.” 

Keep Woojin safe. That was the one thing that Chan had actually failed at. He should have been the one to keep this from ever happening but he hadn’t and Areum saying something like that just made the wolf feel all the worse about his lack of action and sense. 

“Areum, can I ask you something?” 

“Of course, dear,” the woman responded with sympathetic compassion, adjusting the IV bag hanging above Woojin. 

“Do you think everyone deserves a second chance?” 

The question seemed to surprise Areum as she frowned at the wolf, crossing her arms across her chest, shuffling closer towards the young man who had yet to raise his head after hearing her misplaced compliment.

“Are you asking in general or for somebody in particular?” she questioned, giving a little nod towards her adopted son with soft breaths fogging up his oxygen mask. 

“Just…in general,” Chan answered, knowing from past experiences that it would do him little to no good to try and fool Areum but attempting it all the same. 

“It depends, I suppose.”

“On?”

“On a lot of things.”

“Such as?”

“Well, it depends on who it was that committed the act that needs to be forgiven. It depends on what that person did it, how terrible the thing was, if they’re sorry for what they did. But, most of all, it depends on whether the person that was hurt can ever find it within their heart to forgive them and actually allow them a second chance.”

That made a lot of sense. It was Areum’s way of saying that, no, she didn’t think  _ everyone  _ deserved a second chance because there were plenty of people that had done wrong or had mistreated someone that weren’t sorry in the slightest, that would do it again if they had the chance, that didn’t care that they had hurt someone. But when it came to Woojin, Chan was sure that he would probably be at least somewhat apologetic about all of this once he figured out that Chan was wise to what his father had threatened to do to his pack. 

“Can you?”

“Can I what?” Chan stumbled over his words, an unsuccessful attempt to look composed, as if he hadn’t just been very deeply lost in his thoughts. 

“Forgive him and allow him to prove to you that he deserves a second chance?” 

“How do you know I’m not the one that did something to him?” Chan scoffed unconvincingly, watching the lines indicating Woojin’s heart was still beating slowly rise and fall on the screen. 

“Call it a gut feeling from your reactions after you split,” Areum placated as she returned to the end of the bed to write Woojin’s vital statistics on the clipboard hanging over the frame. “So, can you?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Well, I think that you need to figure that out. You need to decide if you can forgive him for whatever happened between you two. Then, you can decide if you want to give yourself a second chance too.” 

Give himself a second chance? Did Chan think that he had wronged Woojin enough to warrant needing a second chance? He supposed, after the way he had constantly been beating himself up over the fact that he hadn’t been there to protect Woojin, that he hadn’t been clever enough to see through the elder’s deception, that he had allowed a cold hearted and tyrannical man to rip him away from the love of his life, that maybe Areum was right. Maybe he realised that he didn’t just want to give Woojin a second chance but that he needed to give himself one too. He couldn’t change what had happened in the past but he sure as hell could make sure that the same thing didn’t happen in the future. 

“I can see Bin takes after you in being intuitive and wise,” Chan chuckled when he saw Areum place the clipboard carefully back on the bed before making her way over to him. 

“Oh, I’m exceedingly intuitive. You’d be surprised. I know a lot more than you think I do.” 

And for some unknown reason, that made Chan’s wolf just a little on edge. She hadn’t said it in a hostile way nor had a strange tone when she spoke but there was an implication beneath her words, something Chan was unsure how to interpret since Areum’s scent gave absolutely nothing away about how she was feeling. Maybe it was the disinfectant, maybe it was the possibility that Areum knew too well at this stage how to hide her emotions but Chan didn’t question it as she gently patted his shoulder before turning on her heel to exit the room. 

“I’ll be back again soon and you know if anything happens, just press that button there and I’ll come running, ok?” 

All Chan could do was nod as Areum gave him one last smile and shut the door behind her. Once again, Chan was left by himself but he didn’t really feel like picking up where he had left off, venting all of his troubles to someone who couldn’t even hear him. So, he let his head fall back on the back of the chair, beginning to count the one hundred and forty four tiles upon the ceiling again but this time, he had a new thought to contemplate. 

Did he deserve a second chance?

* * *

Just as Callie had said, the portal on the edge of the park on the east side of town was still open, flora blooming excessively around its entrance as the magic from the Fae realm slipped out in the form of sparkling green tendrils. It would have been relatively difficult to spot if you weren’t looking for it, the doorway being lodged into the bark of a very old looking oak tree that was one in a cluster of many. Changbin was thankful for Callie’s little slip in memory that was now allowing him to jump head first into the Fae realm without another thought. Well, Changbin just had  _ one  _ thought at the moment and it was usually this thought that took up most of his time nowadays. 

As he approached the gate, he stopped to momentarily steel himself. It was tough doing something like this on his own but it was the way he wanted it. He was thankful that his mother hadn’t pushed him to take someone with him while doing this since there would definitely have been at least one or two people he could have found before leaving but he also felt guilty that he had taken advantage of her fragility in a time like this since there was far too much going on for her to waste anymore time arguing with him. 

There were many reasons that Changbin wanted to do this thing on his own. On a larger scale, Changbin knew that, if he were to bring a team with him to the Fae realm, then the Seelie Queen could take that to be a declaration of war, a tactical team invading her domain without her permission. It could cause an overabundance of problems politically amongst the two people and Changbin was sure that his mother knew this and probably why she had let him go by himself. 

On a more personal level, Changbin wished to do this on his own because he just didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. If he went by himself, the only person that could get injured would be him. Call it self destructive but Changbin just couldn’t stand the idea of not being able to protect someone else tonight; that would no doubt end up breaking him. Then, there was also the added fear that whoever he brought along with him might not let him go through with the plan he had mapped out in his head either.

Stepping into the shimmering void, Changbin realised he had never asked Callie what he should do once he set foot into the realm in which he had never been before. He didn’t even know where exactly it was he would end up. He assumed not within the court itself since that would make their security awfully lax if everyone’s main goal was to protect the Queen. It seemed Changbin’s theory checked out once he was transported into a much denser wood, trees reaching up higher than any he had ever seen before. Ten feet away, a doe and young fawn startled at his appearance, trotting away from the threat into the foliage surrounding the area. 

“Alright, I guess I could go looking for the court or…”

Changbin’s second option was stolen from his mouth when he turned his head to the side to see a woman clad in leather armour, silver vines decorating the breastplate and chausses. She had been so silent, so light on her feet but from the way her midnight blue wings were spread proudly behind her back, Changbin figured that she hadn’t actually used her feet to get here at all. 

“From what my mom told me about her first time being here, I figured you guys would find me pretty quickly,” Changbin snorted as another two guards from the Queen’s court joined their first comrade. 

“Why are you here,  _ human _ ?” the first Faerie hissed, pointing the elongated titanium spear between his eyes, emphasising the word ‘human’ as if it were some sort of insult. 

“I’m here to see your queen. Official Shadowhunter business, you see.” 

Now, Changbin wouldn’t usually act this way towards Faeries, all smart and cocky, for fear of how they might react seeing as respect was one of the highest priorities for them. If they thought Changbin to be disrespectful in any way, it could end up damaging the relationship between Fae and Shadowhunters, something that Changbin wouldn’t ever want to burden Woojin with. But this sort of compliance towards the Faeries' wants was essentially just humans being submissive to them and making them feel superior like they thought they were. This time, however, Changbin had no intention of making them think they could walk all over him, not when Felix was on the line. He was going to show them that he could be as dominating of the situation as they could be. 

“Now, be a dear and point me in the right direction, would you?” Changbin encouraged with a little pat on the male Faerie’s arm to his right, gaining him a truly disgusted look. 

Changbin knew that if he got these Faeries riled up enough, they would love to see him beheaded or something even more sinister but to do that, they would need to get the Queen’s permission and to get that permission, they would need to present Changbin to her for judgement. It didn’t matter how, Changbin just needed to get into that court and question the Seelie Queen on Felix’s whereabouts and wellbeing. She couldn’t lie about it, though he knew she could twist her words to leave his question unanswered. But Changbin wasn’t going to leave without Felix. He already had a plan, it was just a matter of carrying it out to its full potential. 

“Do not touch me, Shadowhunter. If you wish to meet your untimely demise with such haste since you have entered the Queen’s dominion without permission, then I shall grant it to you without hesitance,” the man who had been the recipient of his touch barked, his long, brown hair falling upon his sun kissed skin. 

“Thanks so much, man. I appreciate it.” 

With a strong shove against his shoulder, Changbin could only chuckle at how easily he had gotten under their skin. Faeries were supposed to be calm and collected while showing any sort of outward emotion was seen as a weakness but a few little words from Changbin that showed he was in no way going to live up to their usual standards had set them off. They weren’t as sly as they thought they were. 

Entering through a vined canopy with his wall of guards still preventing him from taking a step outside of his designated path, Changbin had to admit that the Fae realm was extraordinarily beautiful with its lush verdure and many species of wildlife running around. He had never seen anything like it but it was a shame that its inhabitants did not hold the same elegance within themselves. 

A firm hand was placed in the middle of Changbin’s chest to stop him from walking since he had been so caught up in admiring the forest that he had nearly walked straight into one of the ladies of the court who was currently filling a glass with wine ahead of him. 

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? A stray Shadowhunter has found his way into my domain. How did this come to be?” 

Changbin had never seen the Queen with his own two eyes before but her beauty outshone every rumour he had ever heard about it. She was gorgeous, truly stunning but when he was aware of her true nature and how she had treated Felix all of his life, he had no intention of trying to get in her good books with empty compliments about her appearance. 

“Well, I needed to speak with you and the front door was unlocked, so I let myself in,” Changbin replied brightly, watching the Queen’s emerald eyes land firmly upon him as she took the glass of wine from the Faerie that Changbin had almost collided with. 

“You know, if someone such as yourself wishes to come to the Fae realm, they send a message to say they’ll be intruding and then wait for my approval. You, however, did not.”

“Apologies but you see, I just didn’t have the time to ask someone to do that for me. Everyone at our Institute is a little tied up at the moment. Demon attacks galore. I’m sure you’ve heard about it already,” Changbin mused. 

He outright refused the glass of purple liquid that had been almost shoved into his hands by the female Faerie from before, knowing better than to accept anything a Fae had to offer. Food and drink from this realm could be poisonous to humans and Changbin would rather seem rude about not taking them up on their hospitality than meet his end here before he even got to ask about Felix. Why the Queen was even offering him something to drink was strange but Changbin got the feeling that she just wanted the Shadowhunter to be disposed of rather than to prolong this conversation any further. 

“Indeed. Well then, what is it that you so desperately needed to see me for, Shadowhunter? My time is far too precious to waste it on any trivial matters.”

“I’ve come here for Felix, so that I can bring him back to the human realm with me.”   
  


That made the Seelie Queen stop mid sip, raising her head and adjusting her crown of ivy leaves dotted with peach begonias. With a small smirk that showed she was rather surprised at the Shadowhunter’s reason for being here, the Queen held out her hand and let her glass drop, the lady of the court that had poured it just barely grasping it before it hit the ground and shattered to pieces. 

“Felix, you say? Why would a human such as yourself come all this way for someone like him? Unless…you wouldn’t happen to be Changbin, would you?” 

“What if I am?” Changbin retaliated, getting a little defensive since the woman knew his name, knowing that neither Felix or Callie would ever mention him to their Queen.

What rattled him further was the fact that she had only figured out his name when he mentioned Felix and it made him wonder what other things she knew about him because of the Faerie. Had they been under surveillance? Did she know that they were together? Because Changbin was sure that having a Faerie in her court being in an intimate relationship with a human would have gotten Felix into some major trouble since his mother had been banished from the court for having relations with a Wild Faerie. Felix’s so-called transgression would be seen as ten times worse. Changbin just hoped that the fact that Felix was now M.I.A was not because of him. 

“Of course you are. My little birds tell me that you have become quite the plaything for him.”

That just about confirmed all of Changbin’s fears, that the Queen knew all about their relationship from her lackeys spying on them. 

“Alas, I fear you have wasted your time coming here.”

“What do you mean by that?” Changbin demanded, repeatedly telling himself not to show any kind of weakness to the woman who would no doubt feed upon it.

“Well, you must understand, Felix is my servant, he belongs to me, so he won’t be going anywhere with you, I’m afraid.”   
  


If he ever doubted Felix’s stories about the barbarous heart of the Seelie Queen, not that he ever would, Changbin could clearly see for himself what kind of person she was from how she spoke about Felix, a Fae just like her. He ‘belonged’ to her and to Changbin, that didn’t sound like Felix simply worked for her but that he was being assigned jobs against his will, a captive to be used however the Queen wanted. 

And when Changbin really thought about it, that was how he had first met Felix. The Queen had assigned him as her proxy to the Institute, even when she was well aware of his phobia of humans. She had put him in a position that she must have known would cause him tremendous anxiety. As much as Changbin knew that Felix was doing much better with his fear since he had figured out that not all humans would harm him, he wouldn’t ever allow the Faerie to be put in a position like that again and the only way to ensure that was to get him the hell out of this place. 

“You do realise that Felix is a person, that you don’t own him in any way.”

“On the contrary, Felix was the payment required from his mother for her egregious sins long ago. She knew she wouldn’t survive in her state if she were to be thrown out of my realm and the only thing that I would accept was someone to fill the spot she had thrown away, even if she didn’t want to give up the child. The only reason that they are both still here is because I allowed it. Therefore, he belongs to me and I will do as I see fit.” 

After everything that had happened tonight, Changbin was already barely holding onto his sound mind. He was doing his best not to think about those who were still suffering back at the Institute but, at the same time, he couldn’t keep his mind off of all of them either. Things were starting to weigh him down and when the Queen began insisting that Felix had been no more than some sort of compensation for how his mother had fallen in love with someone who wasn’t from the Queen’s court, he felt his tongue become a hell of a lot looser. 

“You know, lady, you’re kind of starting to piss me off.” 

Soft gasps and murmurs could be heard from the numerous Faeries of the court surrounding him, shocked and infuriated that someone as low as him, a  _ human,  _ would ever use such words towards their leader like that. 

“Such blatantly contemptuous behaviour. You know, now that I look at you, you remind me of a certain Shadowhunter that broke her way into my realm many years ago too. Your auras are so similar.”

Those words unknowingly made Changbin smile since he knew exactly who the Queen was referring to. 

“My mother will be so pleased to hear that you remember her.” 

Changbin didn’t want to keep this conversation up anymore, especially when the woman in front of him had such a dangerous look invading her eyes. Since he knew that time passed differently here than in the human realm, he needed to get Felix and leave as soon as he could since he wanted to return and help those who may require it and he most definitely didn’t want to stay away from Woojin for too long. He wanted to be there to yell at him when he woke up too. 

“Well, Shadowhunter, it seems you have wasted your time in coming here because Felix will not be leaving my employ simply because you wish it. Take him away.”

With the flick of her wrist covered with countless golden bangles, the Seelie Queen gave her orders, saying that she had tired of speaking with him and no longer wanted his presence within her court. Changbin didn’t even know where her attendants would be taking him away to but when he felt bruising grips around both of his biceps, he got the feeling that it would not be back to the human realm. As he fought and wrestled against the clutches that were holding him down, he knew that it was now or never if he wanted to put the second part of his plan into play. 

“Wait! What if I fight for him?” 

“Pardon?” the Queen quizzed as she momentarily held up her hand to stop her guards from taking the Shadowhunter away, the young man’s words obviously sparking her interest,which was what Changbin had been hoping for all along. 

“Fight, for Felix. Me against anyone of your choosing in hand to hand combat until someone is incapacitated. Whoever concedes defeat or is knocked unconscious loses. One on one. No magic or runes are allowed to be used. If I win, then you give Felix to me, you allow us to return to my realm and you leave him and his mother alone.” 

“Why on earth would I fight for something that already belongs to me?” the woman laughed as Changbin kept struggling. “Unless, there is something else in it for me? If you win, then I shall give Felix to you but it has pretty much already been decided that you will lose. What happens then?” 

One of the greatest advantages in any battle was when your opponent already thought that they had won. It meant one thing and one thing only: that they had underestimated you. Just because Changbin was a human, even if he was a trained Shadowhunter, the Seelie Queen had already decided that there was no way he could possibly win. Exactly as he had planned. Overconfidence would get you killed in a fight, one of the many lessons that Changbin had learned in his youth but he was more than sure he could use that against the Queen, possibly the most cocky and presumptuous person that Changbin had ever met. 

“If you win, then I don’t leave. I stay here and you can do whatever you want to me. I won’t ever try to escape, I won’t allow anyone to take me away from you. You don’t even have to let me see Felix again. I’ll pledge my allegiance to you and only you. I’ll belong to you in every way possible and will do whatever you ask of me.” 

Now  _ that  _ definitely grabbed her attention. Such brilliance shone in her eyes at the thought of Changbin being at her beck and call, of having someone like him under her thumb for years to come. It was something that Changbin had come up with the moment he had heard that he would more than likely have to take a chance and face the Seelie Queen head on since there would be no way for him to sneak Felix out of there without her knowledge. He was a skilled fighter, he was one of the people that taught blooming Shadowhunters the art of combat. This was something that he knew he was good at and he also knew that the Queen would think that any human would not be able to live up to the standards of anyone in her court. 

And the questions that arose from those facts were these: What would the Queen find more amusing than anything? What would be so dehumanising for a Shadowhunter that she would be willing to gamble on it becoming a reality? What could Changbin do that he had confidence in to set Felix free? For Changbin, the answers were simple. 

“A Shadowhunter under my command? An interesting concept.”

“ _ But _ , if I win, you have to agree to my terms fully. You let Felix leave with me, I will take him to the human realm and neither you nor any of your court are to come after him. He will no longer be under your command and he will in no way belong to you. The same goes for Callie. You are to leave the two of them to live in peace, you will interfere in their lives in no way and you will not try to hurt them through coming after any of their loved ones either. They will be free people who can live their lives as they wish. So, do we have a deal?” 

He didn’t really need to ask at this stage; the way the Queen’s body was practically buzzing as her magic filled the air with electricity was answer enough for him. Still, he reached out his hand for her to grasp, knowing that they would officially need to seal the deal, as it were. Her magic would bind their contract and he would have no choice but to stick to his promise but so would she. If he won, she would have no choice but to agree to what she had promised, her inability to lie working to Changbin’s advantage.

“Very well, Shadowhunter. I agree to your terms,” the Queen resounded for all of her court to hear, bravely clasping Changbin’s hand in her own as swirls of dark green magic encapsulated their fingers, tying their pledge together. 

Just as the Queen was about to speak and choose her fighter, since Changbin got the distinct feeling that she wouldn’t risk dirtying her manicured nails by trying to land some punches on him, the Shadowhunter held his hand up to impede her speech. 

“I want to see Felix first and make sure that he is safe. Bring him out here and let him watch on the sidelines.”    


It could be seen as a request but the way Changbin laced his words with conviction left very little in the way of interpreting it as such. Still, his confidence seemed to entertain the Queen who gestured with her finger to one of her guards to follow a small path to the left, disappearing through a flowering arch and Changbin could only hope that Felix was beyond it. 

The silence was deafening, the only thing managing to break through being the slight whistles of the nightingales and koles nesting in the branches above. It took roughly ninety seconds for another sound to hit Changbin’s ears, small footsteps coming from the stone path that he had not taken his eyes off of since the guard had left. 

When two shadows walked into the moonlight, Changbin completely disregarded the one in front, the man he had been speaking to earlier and craned his neck to look at the shorter one trudging behind, looking downtrodden and dejected with head hanging low, hands bound together in front of him, not by cuffs but by stings of magic, supposedly to stop him from using any himself.

Trying to realise why he had been brought there, Felix finally raised his head to take in his surroundings, only to see the one person that he feared he would never see again, eyes regaining some of their light that had apparently been lost. 

“Binnie!” Felix squeaked, not taking a moment to try and run to his boyfriend but was quickly halted in his movements by the guard who had brought him to them, the man wrapping his hand tightly around Felix’s throat and pushing him backwards. 

Seeing the Faerie put his hands on Felix like that in an attempt to, not only stop him from running into Changbin’s arms, but to hurt him too since the lavender haired young man winced at the action, made Changbin want to throw his plan out the window, fight everyone here and just take Felix away from this place as fast as he could. 

Another thing fueling Changbin’s rage was the very noticeable bruise on the right side of Felix’s face, a bloody nose adding to the contrast of how he would usually look. This just proved that Changbin couldn’t do anything to protect the ones that he loved. He hadn’t been able to save Woojin, hadn’t been able to stop Seungmin from getting hurt and now, here Felix was, in a place that Changbin thought he would be safe, being beaten and overwhelmed and Changbin had not been here to help him. He was becoming more than tired of feeling this way, like he was always a step behind where he should have been to help those who needed it most. Things would change from now on because Changbin would not let the rest of his life keep going down this path. 

“Hey, Lix. You all right, beautiful?” Changbin called with a smile, getting a confused nod in his direction, Felix obviously still being exceedingly perplexed as to why Changbin would even be here. 

“Well, now that he is here, would you like to begin your little sparring match?” the Queen giggled, looking like she was truly invested in this fight, like the thoughts of Changbin being harmed were making her ecstatically happy. 

“Sparring match? What is going on?” Felix mumbled, Changbin knowing it must be exceedingly painful to talk when his lip was cut open, the bruise cupping his jaw and probably making it ache. 

“Your little knight in shining armour here has apparently come to rescue you,” the man still holding onto Felix snickered. “He has challenged the Queen to a fight. For you. Saying that if he wins, he gets to take you away to the human realm but if he loses, then he stays here and serves the Queen. Why he would be willing to do that for someone like you is beyond me.”

At those words, Felix began to wrestle against the man’s arms again, not gaining very much momentum since the obnoxious boor was probably over half a foot taller and had maybe fifty pounds on the smaller Faerie.    
  


“What?! No, no, Binnie, you cannot do something like that! I do not want you getting harmed or losing your freedom because of me!”

Felix was in a frenzy, eyes vivid and vibrant in the darkness of the night as the radiant viridescence made Changbin’s heart ache, knowing that Felix couldn’t use his magic like his body so clearly wanted, to try and protect him. 

“It is too late. The Shadowhunter has already agreed to participate. Signed his own death warrant, as it were. Within mere minutes, I will have another trinket to add to my collection.” 

There was that irritating confidence again, courtesy of the self righteous Queen and Changbin couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief, wondering how everybody in the Fae realm could follow someone who had so much contempt and impudence within her heart. But, then again, Changbin wasn’t entirely sure she had one. 

“It’s ok, Lix. I promise, everything will be alright. Do you trust me?” 

With tears beginning to gather up in his eyes, Felix nodded carefully once again, showing that he did indeed trust in Changbin’s abilities but that he also knew what each person within the Queen’s court was capable of too. Felix would put his faith in Changbin though because he wouldn’t place it in anyone else. The Shadowhunter had made him see that he was not the person that the court had taught him he was. 

He was something so much better and the only reason he had ever opened his eyes enough to see it was because of Changbin. His mother had always told him such things but he assumed that was a parent’s job, to be biased that they child was wonderful. But Changbin had forced him to look at himself through his eyes, the ones that saw Felix for who he really was and that was why he would forever put his faith in Changbin. 

Because he loved him. He believed in him. He trusted him. 

“Then, yes, I’m ready to start,” Changbin smiled, never looking away from Felix’s shaking form. “You still have to choose who you want to fight for you.” 

The Queen tapped her chin thoughtfully, as if she hadn’t already decided who Changbin was going to go up against from the very beginning, her eyes scanning the onlooking crowd that had gathered before landing on the man still grasping Felix by the back of his shirt. 

“I’ll choose Axel as my champion. He is my most skilled fighter and will definitely not let me down.”

A threat towards the Faerie with a devilishly heinous smirk but he seemed to pay it no mind as he finally let go of Felix, handing him off to another of the guards before striding forward toward Changbin and cracking his knuckles up in the air as he did so.

“I shall not fail you, Your Majesty. If you wish to put this mutt on a leash, then I shall be the one to tame it for you.” 

Changbin had to laugh at the man’s baseless taunts. If Axel thought that he would get under his skin with name calling and intimidation on the level you would find in a children’s playground, then he really didn’t know how Shadowhunters were trained. But was it a little unsettling that Faeries referred to humans as animals, just as Yunseok had called Chan a dog when he had threatened Woojin in the past? Yes, just a little bit. 

As Axel joined him in the center of the large open area in front of the Queen, Changbin realised that, while this was a serious matter for him, releasing Felix from the bonds he had never been free of in his life, for the people of the court, it was nothing more than a show. A show, a performance, a spectacle because they too had decided that Changbin had already lost. 

“Standard rules of hand to hand combat apply. No magic can be used on your side and I won’t use my runes either. No weapons and it is only until one of us can no longer fight. You can’t kill me since I am the prize for your queen and I have no sort of longing to kill you and start a war either. Everything else is on the table, understood?” 

Axel merely scoffed as Changbin laid out the details, glancing towards the onlookers to the fight as they all did the same thing, bar Felix, of course, who still looked positively terrified at the prospect of Changbin getting injured and taken into the Queen’s custody because of him. 

“Yes, yes, Shadowhunter. I have seen more battles in the last week than you have in your entire life,” Axel jeered, wringing out his hands, as if he couldn’t wait to try and pummel Changbin into the ground. 

Ignoring the derision being put to him, Changbin turned his head to the side, catching Felix’s attention and giving him a playful wink. It wasn’t that he thought of this as some sort of game but he wanted Felix to relax a little since his eyes had not yet returned back to the shade of brown that Changbin was so used to seeing, meaning that his magical energy was still running rampant. 

“If everyone is ready then. On my count,” the Queen declared, raising her hand as she was about to start the match.

Planting his feet in the soil beneath him to secure his stance, Changbin quickly scanned Axel’s body for any information that he could use within the fight. Knowing your opponent’s weaknesses and strengths was critical going into any sort of battle if you wanted to have some chance at winning. 

_ ‘Young male, roughly six foot, two hundred pounds. Slight delay in his step indicates prior injury inflicted on his left leg. Scar running down the right side of his face suggesting weakness in the jaw to be exploited. Overconfident, so inhibitions are down. But not to be underestimated.’ _

“One, two, three!” 

Not a second more passed before Axel stood tall and slowly moved forward, clearly thinking that Changbin wasn’t even worthy of the element of surprise. With an open fist, Axel grabbed onto the front of Changbin’s shirt, chortling at the size difference as the rest of the court, including the Queen, joined in. It may have hit a nerve since Changbin didn’t appreciate being looked down upon, figuratively or literally but since the fight had begun, he figured that he could go out already. 

As Axel mocked him with the other Faeries, Changbin raised his right hand, placing it on top of the elder’s and holding under his little finger since it was the weakest part of the grip, just as his mother had taught him. With the momentum as he turned his left shoulder, he snapped Axel’s hold pushing him on his back so that he stumbled away from him with a yelp. 

“Come on, man. You can’t start a fight like that. Left yourself wide open. If you’re the Queen’s best fighter, I’d hate to see how everyone else fares,” Changbin snorted and the look on Axel’s face at the small shame he had gained made him want to laugh out loud.

“Worthless human. I will show you how a guard of the Queen’s court truly fights.” 

And then the anger came. From Axel, of course because there was no way in hell Changbin would be stupid enough to let something like that drive him in a fight. 

The Faerie ran towards him with impatience clear on his face going for Changbin’s throat and the Shadowhunter let him because he knew exactly how to counter attack for an assault like that. Axel violently wrapped his hand around Changbin’s throat, just as he had done to Felix earlier and when Changbin heard a small gasp from the crowd, he could only assume that it was the freckled young man in shock, not that Changbin would let his attention be diverted from the problem in front of him. Placing both of his hands over the juncture of Axel’s arm, Changbin snapped his arms down fast, making Axel fall towards him and as Changbin put his left hand behind the Faerie’s head, he brought his right knee up to dig straight into the bigger man’s stomach, winding him until he fell to his knees. 

“Who taught you how to fight? You’ve broken so many obvious rules already and we’ve only just begun. Would you like to concede defeat? I’m sure your Queen won’t mind,” uttered Changbin, bouncing on his feet, glancing at the Seelie Queen to see her face glowing with a crimson tinge, realising she may have made a mistake in underestimating him. 

“Never. A Faerie will never concede. I’m not finished yet,” Axel yelled, surging forward, swinging his fist towards Changbin as the Shadowhunter dodged and sidestepped to put some distance between them. 

Even as Axel moved with such precision, like a skilled fighter would, emotions he was not used to feeling were causing him to gradually become sloppy, his frustration of being mortified in front of the whole court like this getting the better of him. 

It went on for a few minutes like this, Axel doing his best to land a hit on Changbin, scraping the Shadowhunter’s cheek twice, leaving four elongated scratches overlapping each other on his face and landing one good shot to his shoulder but on every other occasion, the young man managed to dodge with his speed that Axel apparently did not have. 

Seeing the Faerie lunge at him, Changbin took advantage of the weakness in his leg that he had noticed earlier, kicking just above his knee joint, sending Axel into the mud beneath them. However, the elder seemed to finally find an opening as he used his other leg to kick out, coming into contact with Changbin’s ankle, making the Shadowhunter lose his footing and allow Axel to get behind him and capture him in a bear hug that Changbin struggled against with all his might, not getting even a little bit of wiggle room. 

“Is this all that the mighty Shadowhunters have to offer? I thought you would be much better seeing as you were the one to suggest a fight to win Felix back. Such a disappointment. We were right, humans really aren’t worth our time,” the Faerie sneered cockily, as if he hadn't practically been losing this fight the whole time. 

Axel’s arms tightened themselves around Changbin’s middle, making him feel breathless because of the sheer force, one that the Shadowhunter knew would leave a sizeable bruise and from the pain now radiating from his chest, he figured that Axel had either managed to crack or break a couple of his ribs but he was sure he would be able to find a way to break it the other’s grip, just trying to remember what he had been taught to do in a situation like this. 

“When you lose, I will personally make it my mission to take care of Felix since he will have to stay here with us,” Axel mocked.

He turned his body so that Changbin was now forced to look at his boyfriend, Felix having tears tumbling down his cheeks because of the situation Changbin was now falling into, never ceasing in his attempts to break free and help the Shadowhunter.

“And boy, will I have fun with him. The Queen said that I could do whatever I liked with him. He’s always been a stain within the court, just like those horrid dots all over his face. Thinking of new ways to make him suffer will keep me busy for some time and you will be here to see him endure it all. Now  _ that  _ will be fun. He will finally be getting what he deserves.”

And Changbin finally snapped. What Axel was threatening to do was something that Changbin had sworn he would not let come to pass ever again. Felix did not deserve any of this, he would not see anymore pain on Changbin’s watch and the only way to ensure that was to end this fight here and now. 

Raising his feet from the ground, Changbin lowered his body weight, throwing off Axel’s center of gravity and making him topple forwards, loosening his arms slightly as he did so. Changbin pushed his own arms out, breaking the grip before he turned and punched the Faerie straight in the face, probably fracturing his jaw of the horrific crack was anything to go by. 

He didn’t stop there though. While he promised not to be driven solely by his anger, he could let it aid his movements as he bent low, holding the back of Axel’s neck pushing his head forwards so it firmly connected with the taller’s face, a sickening crunch letting him know that a broken nose was now another problem that Axel would have to deal with along with the humiliation of defeat. And while the Faerie stumbled backwards with a cry of pain, Changbin gained momentum, running to catch up with the other man before planting his foot firmly beneath him, swinging his body around and doing a high spinning hook kick, letting his foot connect with the jaw that he had damaged earlier. 

And that was all she wrote as Axel was thrown to the floor from the impact, his body going limp, eyes falling shut to signify that, as much as he didn’t want to, he had no choice but to yield and surrender. An important part to being a decent Shadowhunter was to be gracious in both defeat and victory, so Changbin wouldn’t gloat at how he had just kicked the Faerie’s ass, supposedly the toughest one in the realm, because he had thoroughly underestimated his abilities. At least, not until he got back home.

And while he was proud of himself, the silence that his triumph brought about made Changbin feel like he was in more danger than he had ever been in before. 

Holding onto his side where Axel had done some pretty troublesome damage, Changbin stared at the gobsmacked faces of the court, not letting his defenses drop for one second; that would be a mistake that he would no doubt regret. But all that he really cared about was how Felix was, seeing the young man’s gaze dart between him and the Seelie Queen to try and depict her verdict. 

Changbin had won. She had no choice but to keep her word since her magic had set her promise of Felix’s freedom in stone but whether she would admit defeat in front of her entire court was something that Changbin was unsure of. 

“Release the boy” she hissed lowly, tongue in cheek and Changbin couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Axel since he would no doubt have to suffer her wrath later because of his defeat.

Breathing a sigh of relief when one of the guards undid the binds holding Felix’s hands together, Changbin gestured for him to come and join him so they could get the hell out of here as quickly as possible. Which Felix did, with very hesitant steps, as if he would be attacked by someone along the way. Thankfully, he reached Changbin without being intercepted, a trembling hand falling around the Shadowhubter’s bicep before Felix hid his face in his shoulder, seeking refuge behind Changbin. 

“Well, it seems as if Axel did not live up to my standards. Pity,” the Queen muttered and Changbin could tell she was doing her best not to erupt in front of everyone. 

From the crackling around him, Changbin could almost feel her magic wrapping itself around his skin, making him feel increasingly uncomfortable, like her long fingers were caressing his arms despite not being physically touched. 

“Well, as you can see, Axel can no longer fight me. Therefore, I win, according to our agreement. So, since I have things to take care of back at the Institute, I’ll be leaving with Felix now,” Changbin chattered, becoming increasingly self conscious at being surrounded like this. 

“Of course, those were the terms. You will take Felix back to the human realm and when you do, I will no longer seek him out,” the Queen promised, gesturing for them to take the path out of the court towards the thick forest that Changbin had entered through. 

Placing his arm around Felix, keeping his other firmly wrapped around his own waist to mitigate the pain he was currently feeling from where Axel had tried to restrict him, Changbin said nothing more, quietly turning away from the scrutinising eyes set upon them. He would keep his mouth shut for the time being, not risking their safety by saying anything more that the Queen might take offense to. Walking past Axel’s exhausted body as the Faerie was being hoisted up by two more guards, Changbin kept his eyes straight ahead, pulling Felix closer so that nobody would have a chance to take him away. 

“By the way, Felix,” the woman behind them called out, making Felix shiver against Changbin’s arm as he turned to look at her. “According to the terms of your human’s agreement, since you are no longer under my employ, you are to be classified as a Wild Faerie and in that case, you are no longer welcome in the Fae realm.” 

It obviously hadn’t been something that Felix had thought about as the Faerie’s eyes went wide at the statement before nodding, overcome with a sudden realisation. Since he would no longer be employed by the Queen, that meant that he had lost his status, his privilege, his entitlement to the Queen’s blessing and protection, not that he ever really had that in the first place. 

But to the Faerie’s of the Queen’s court, Wild Faeries were seen as the enemy since they had chosen to ignore the Queen’s laws and ways of living by going to the human world and living on their own, giving up what they thought it meant to be a Fae, being amongst your people. Felix had always been seen as an outcast but now, he was even more so. Not only that but he would have to give up the only place he had ever called his home, even if it had never really felt like it. 

These were things that Changbin hadn’t really considered either but he would make sure that Felix would feel more at home in the human realm than he ever had in the Fae one because there were people who loved him there. He would do everything to show Felix that home was not a place but was within people he cared about and if he was with them, no matter where he would go, he would be home. 

“And since it is against my law for Wild Fae to be here, I will give you five minutes to leave my domain before I dispatch my guards to deal with the unwanted threat.”

With a shiver running throughout his body at the obvious menace spreading throughout the people from the Queen’s words, Changbin realised that he hadn’t quite covered all of the basis when it came to protecting Felix. He had said that, once Felix was in the human realm with him, the Queen could no longer come after him. But he wasn’t in the human realm yet. He was still at the Seelie Queen’s mercy. 

“Wait, what about my mother?” Felix rasped with terror, his voice becoming more strained by the second. 

Before Felix could say anything more, Changbin pulled him close and whispered in his ear that Callie was at the Institute with his mother, that she was the one that had informed him of how Felix had gone missing and that she was completely safe.

“What about my belongings?”

To be honest, his things didn’t even mean that much to him. All that was in his room was clothing and the bare essentials but he did have some money for the human world stashed away should he need it and he was beginning to think that he definitely would now. No, his possessions weren’t bothering him that much but things that belonged to his mother back at her house on the edge of the forest, everything she had built her whole life upon, would no doubt be ransacked and destroyed if Felix were to leave them behind now. 

“The things at my mother’s house. I can’t just-”

“Five minutes, Felix. Your time starts now. I suggest you leave at once.” 

Changbin didn’t give him time to talk back anymore, grabbing the Faerie’s hand and beginning to walk back towards the place he had been escorted from a short while ago. They would be cutting it close trying to get there in five minutes, especially now that, every time Changbin jostled his ribs, a sharp pain flew throughout his body but he wouldn’t stop, not when they were so close to freedom. 

“Goodbye, Changbin. I shall remember your name and hopefully, this shall not be the last time we see each other.” 

At the Queen’s words, Changbin’s brisk walk turned into a full on sprint, running until his legs began to ache. A few minutes passed before he saw the tree in the opening that he had been through earlier. It was then that he noticed that the portal he had come through was now gone, closed up as a defensive maneuver just as Callie had said. Felix didn’t waste any time, knowing that the Queen was not playing around with her threat, twirling his wrists until his magic began to create a new portal, one that both young men jumped through the moment it was open. 

With a thud, Felix and Changbin landed on the ground on the other side, the Faerie immediately turning around and using his magic to seal the portal back up. Once any trace of evidence of the Fae realm had been erased, Felix allowed himself to flop back down onto the ground, breathing heavily and not understanding how everything that had just happened had actually happened so fast. 

Gathering his bearings and wincing when he shot up straight, Changbin crawled over to Felix as the Faerie’s eyes remained firmly on the trunk of the tree when he realised that he had just been thrown out of his home, that he would never see the beauty of the Fae realm again. And while he hated those within it, he still loved the realm that had been his home, a place he would never lay eyes on again.

“Lix? Hey, beautiful, look at me. Are you alright?” 

Changbin winced at the pressure that was put on his torso once Felix threw himself at him, causing him to fall on his back from the force but when he heard the unrestrained sniffles coming from the young man lying on top of him, Changbin simply wrapped his arms around his slender waist, pressing small kisses into his hair, trying with all his might to hold Felix as close as he possibly could.

“Changbin…” Felix wailed, ignoring the light beginning to creep over the buildings to their left, despite the rain that was currently falling upon them, signalling to Changbin that the whole night had passed when he had only been in the Fae realm for the bones of an hour. 

“It’s alright, Lix. You’re ok. Shh, I’m here. I’m right here.” 

“I was so scared. I thought when they locked me in that room that I would never get to see you again. That I would never get to see my mother again. My friends at the Institute. I could not bear that. Thank you, thank you so much for coming to save me.”

They simply laid there for a few moments, letting Felix work out his tears at the loss of his old life, mourning having to throw away his identity. But Changbin would be there for him through it all. It was his job as a Shadowhunter to help Downworlders in need but it was his job as Felix’s boyfriend to make sure the distressed young man with stinging wounds felt safe, to give him all of the love he deserved, to show him that he would  _ never  _ be alone through something like this. 

“I will always come for you, Lix. I will always be here for you. No matter what.”

With the heartfelt promise, Felix raised from his position with a small smile, letting Changbin wipe the waterfalls of tears raining down from his eyes. As the Faerie did so, he pressed lightly upon the Shadowhunter’s stomach to steady himself, causing Changbin to cry out in pain at the pressure. 

“Binnie?! Oh, gosh, are you hurt? Here, let me see.” 

Even as Changbin tried to stop Felix from checking, the Shadowhunter couldn’t really fight back in the position he was in as his shirt was lifted slightly, hearing Felix gasp at the large bruise already beginning to form. 

“It’s ok, Lix. I’m just a little sore. It’s fine, I’ve endured much worse, you know,” Changbin chuckled, doing his best to lighten the mood. “Besides, I would do it again and again if it meant that you were safe.” 

With the realisation that they both could have been much worse for wear, Felix joined in on Changbin’s optimism before punching him harshly in the arm, apologising when Changbin yelped at the pain, not that it stopped him from hitting him a second time when he thought about how Changbin had nearly given up his entire life in the hopes that he could win against the odds.

“But what if you had lost? Saying you would become the Queen’s subordinate if you did? You should not have done that. You could have been locked up in there with me, forced to serve her for-”

“Like I said, Lix,” Changbin interrupted with a small peck to the Faerie’s lips. “I would do anything for you. Plus, I was confident about it.” 

One more punch for good luck hit Changbin’s arm before Felix fell into them once again, placing their foreheads together and ordering his tears to stay away. They were both safe, alive and free. Something Felix had never thought possible. 

“I’m sorry for making such a decision for you, Lix, about you being a Wild Faerie from now on. I just…they were going to make me leave and it was the only viable option I could think of to get you out of there.”

“Don’t be sorry, Binnie. You made the right decision,” Felix encouraged, relishing in the warmth of Changbin’s body since his own was currently being frozen by the downpour. 

“Why did the Queen lock you up anyways? So suddenly.” 

“She found out about us and said that I could not go back to see you. That she had only sent me to be her proxy because she thought I would not cause any trouble for her and then she ended up insulting me and telling me that I was nothing more than a mistake.”

Now Changbin kind of wished that the Seelie Queen had decided to fight him herself. Without her magic, he wondered how much of a threat she would have been if he were to fight her and he really wished he could of when he heard of how she had insulted Felix like that straight to his face and had tried to keep him away from the human realm, denying him of the only people he had ever called his friends.   


“So, I spoke up against her and well, let us say that she did not appreciate it.” 

Felix’s hands began to shake from the cold but Changbin could only speculate that it was from reliving the memory of his rage that had caused him to stand up against the Queen too. His self esteem had gained significant momentum since Changbin had first met him on that evening that seemed so long ago now and he couldn’t help the pride he felt that Felix would no longer let himself be pushed around. 

“You should always defend yourself against something like that. I’m proud of you, beautiful,” Changbin complimented with a small kiss to the Faerie’s cheek as he began to rise from the mud caked floor. 

He didn’t get very far though, wincing once again and beginning to fall back to the ground before Felix caught him with such gentleness and slung one of his arms over his shoulder to steady the Shadowhunter. 

“You came here by yourself? Did you think that was a smart thing to do?” Felix scolded since Changbin had been hurt because of his carelessness and he couldn’t help but blame himself just a little bit because of that. 

“You sound like my mom. Well, to be fair, everyone else is sort of busy at the moment.” A lie but it was easier than explaining the truth on why he had come alone. 

Walking down the street that was doused with the rain which had obviously been falling overnight but was now beginning to lessen, the two young men leaned on each other, hoping that they would be able to use magic from either Minho or Felix himself to fix themselves up once they got back to the Institute. 

“Busy? With what? Did something happen?” Felix asked, concerned as he saw the slight discomfort in the other’s eyes. 

Far too many things had happened on this night and Changbin couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t a coincidence. For now, he would just focus on the long trip back to the Institute, knowing it would take more than double the time it had taken to get there with the new wounds he was supporting, along with Felix’s own. 

“Yeah but for now, we need to head back to the Institute. I’ll explain everything along the way.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is everyone in this fic terribly self sacrificial for the ones they love? Perhaps...  
And next week, which I haven't even finished because I am so terribly behind lately, we've got Changlix's return to the Institute and we've got some soft Seungin and Jeongdam. See you then! And stream God's Menu! ❤


	44. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am early again this week but there is a reason! I started back at work today and on Thursdays, I usually would have woken up earlier to update for you guys. Yeah. That's not happening tomorrow because I am beat and I will use that extra twenty minutes of sleep! So, here is your chapter today instead. What may happen from now on is that I'll update on Wednesday or Thursday evenings (my time) after work depending on what I get done. So it will either be a little earlier or later than usual. There we go.  
And thank you all so much for 1000 kudos!  
Ok, some soft softness today for you guys because I can be soft and it, in no way, is making up for what happens next week.

If Felix thought his situation had been bad, then the one that had been going on in the human realm at the exact same time was truly horrendous. As he supported Changbin all the way back to the Institute after he had set him free from the shackles of his former life, something that he had constantly thanked the elder for since, he couldn’t believe everything that he had been told by his boyfriend. 

Demon attacks, Woojin getting seriously injured, why it was that Chan and the eldest Shadowhunter had no longer been an item. It was terrible and knowing that Changbin had to deal with all of that and then come to know of Felix’s situation, it made his heart hurt at how much the raven haired young man must be carrying on his shoulders right about now. 

Felix would be there for him though. For the rest of his life, he would make sure that he would always be there for Changbin after what he had done for him, not just tonight but ever since he had met the other. 

As they walked up the desolate street that would lead them Changbin’s home, Felix took a moment to stop with the Shadowhunter still in his arms, turning himself to look at the confused face of Changbin. 

“Are you all right, Binnie?”    


“Hmm? Yeah, I’m ok. See? I’m nearly able to walk on my own,” Changbin avowed as he pulled away from the Faerie, attempting to move a few steps before his arm slung around his waist to keep himself upright as he hissed at the sensation of his own body betraying him by causing him pain. 

“Yes, yes,” Felix countered as he ran to Changbin and took some of his weight upon his shoulder once again. “But I was not talking about your physical wellbeing.”

It was clear that Changbin knew what Felix had been trying to ask but he thought that he might be able to play it off without getting into it any further right now. From the look on Felix’s face though, Changbin knew it wasn’t something that the Faerie would let slide. 

“Everything is just piling on top of me, Lix and I’m beginning to feel like I’m being buried underneath. I’ve been holding onto secrets for so long, things that have been eating away at me and even more problems seem to be finding me lately. I don’t get how everything just completely unraveled tonight.” 

In all the times that Changbin had consoled him when he was down, Felix realised that he had never really been able to return the favour. While the Shadowhunter had become far more open in many aspects of their relationship, talking about the problems that were bothering him had never really come up, maybe because they had been too preoccupied with Felix’s. 

But now was the time where Felix could help him through something because he knew that, despite Changbin’s outwardly tough front, he, like everyone else, would need someone to rely on when they were struggling. 

“You know, there is a saying with which I am familiar that seems applicable right now. ‘_Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.’ _This is just one of those times in your life but it seems like you are handling everything in the best way that you possibly can. It will make you stronger in the end, even if it doesn’t seem like it right now. I promise it will and I will be here to help you every step of the way. You can always rely on me, Binnie, just like I know I can always rely on you.”

With a small smile and a peck on the cheek, Changbin thanked Felix for his kind words that tried to ease his burden just a little bit. 

“Why is it that you always know exactly what to say to me to make me feel better? How do you do that?” 

“I thought I could use this chance to return the favour for all of the times you have helped me,” Felix smiled as he led Changbin up to the double doors of the Institute, pushing with all of his strength and leaving the morning sun behind them. 

But they quickly walked from one battlefield into another as they heard a shrill yell from in front of them, making both of them jump in the air with a small groan from Changbin. 

“They’re back! Areum, they’re here!” 

With a small sigh of relief, Felix felt Changbin tap him gently on the back, an encouraging sign that he should go to his overly distraught mother who had been the owner of the earlier shriek. Felix carefully released Changbin when he saw Callie begin to rush towards him with her overjoyed shouts, tears welling up in his eyes when he thought of how he had sat in the bleak and empty room back in the Fae realm, hands bound together and left alone with nothing but thoughts of how he would never see anyone he cared about ever again. But Changbin had changed that, he had saved him and had allowed him to finally see his mother again, running straight into her arms and snuggling into her neck. 

“Oh, Felix. My sweetpea, are you alright? I was so worried. Your face, let me see, what did they do to you?” Callie wept, delicately caressing his cheek where the bruise was darkest in colour. 

There had never been a day in his life that Felix had not been thankful for his mother. It was a very rare occasion when they would be found arguing, the only serious time being the day when he had gone to the human realm for the first time, after he had asked about his father and she had refused to allow him to go and locate him. Now, Felix realised that she was just trying to protect him from the cruelty of such a place that was enhanced by his naivety. 

She cared for him more than she did for herself, made abundantly clear from the way she had run all the way to the Institute from the Fae realm to ask for assistance in helping him. Felix loved his mother so much and made a deal with himself to tell her that a lot more often and spend as much time as he could with her now that the Seelie Queen would not be separating them anymore.

“I am ok, Mother. Changbin made sure of that.”

Holding Felix close again, Callie placed her chin on his shoulder, grabbing Changbin’s attention and holding out her hand for the Shadowhunter to take, which he did with a small, comforting smile. 

“Thank you for bringing him back to me,” she whispered, giving Changbin’s hand a small squeeze but the emotions attempting to be conveyed by the Faerie managed to reach Changbin without any trouble. 

“You’re welcome,” Changbin mouthed back, letting his hand drop to his side before curling around his waist again, allowing Felix and his mother a few moments more for their touching reunion. 

It was a moment of serenity before Changbin would rush straight back into the mess he had walked away from earlier in the night. He just hoped that nothing too drastic had happened in that time, that Woojin was still holding on the way he had expected him to. 

Of course, Callie’s earlier call had been one to attract the attention of a certain person, one that, as Changbin had always said, was heard before she was seen. The thundering sound of footsteps, combat boots kicking off the ground could be heard getting louder and louder until Areum rounded a corner, eyes wide and landing on her son and the lavender haired Faerie who lent her a revitalising sort of smile. 

Changbin was so focused on trying to alleviate the pain in his side that he only noticed Areum had begun running at him until she was a couple of steps away, not enough time to stop her before she was pulling him into a rather bone crushing hug, ironic when he was sure a couple of his bones probably already were. 

“Areum! He is injured,” Felix stuttered worriedly as Changbin’s groans of pain increased in volume before diminishing when Areum finally let him out of her arms, only to hit him firmly on the top of his head. 

“What took you boys so long?! I’ve been at my wits end waiting for you to come back!”    


A varying array of emotions could be seen on Areum’s face but Changbin knew that, unlike Callie, his mother was a lot more forceful and vocal about letting her sentiments soar. She had a gentle side to her, of course but when the stakes were so high, the life of her son and his boyfriend in the balance, she needed to be as verbal as she could about it.

“Mom, you know that time passes differently there. I was only in the Fae realm for about an hour. Isn’t this exactly what Dad scolded you for back then? That you had been gone nearly a whole day and they were worried that something had happened to you since Seungmin’s mom couldn’t track you through your bond?” 

Areum snapped her mouth shut after that, hating that she had told her son so much about her only visit to the Fae realm back in her youth since he had already managed to use it against her twice in the past twelve hours. It was true though, that was what had happened to her back then, having to deal with weeks worth of reprimanding and being chewed out by her husband and friends for not thinking to reveal to them that she would be going M.I.A for a little while. With a little huff, Areum crossed her arms over her chest, her face a concoction of annoyance and indignation but also immense relief that not only her son but the one who meant the entire world to him were back with them, safe and sound. 

“That was different,” Areum mumbled. 

“Yes, it was because I am certain that Areum was a couple of years younger than you were and she had you to look after when she rushed into the Fae realm back then too.”

“Callie, that is in no way helping my case here.”

Hearing a little giggle from behind, Changbin was so incredibly glad that he could hear Felix laughing again, like he was supposed to be. Even though he had been reassured by the Faerie, Changbin still felt bad that with his decision, he had ultimately forced Callie and Felix out of the Fae realm forever without even asking if that would be something that they would be alright with. But he had saved Felix and he would no longer be under the Seelie Queen’s thumb and for that, he could deal with a little bit of self doubt. 

“Felix, are you alright?” Areum cooed, hurrying over to the Faerie and tracing over the points where Callie’s fingertips had previously been, making Changbin throw his hands up in the air that he had not received the same sort of coddling. 

“Mom?” Changbin tried, getting his mother to look away from Felix for just a moment. “How’s Wooj? He’s still fighting, right?” 

There was the tiniest bit of fear in his heart that he had been away conquering one battle and that his brother might have given up on his but when Areum smiled with a hint of sadness, he got the feeling that everything was just how he had left it. 

“He’s still hanging on. Not any better but not any worse which isn’t a bad thing. He needs to regain energy before his blood can start working on his wounds to speed up the healing process.” 

That made Changbin relax immensely, letting go of his stagnant breath that he had been holding as he awaited an answer. Woojin was still fighting and if he knew his leader, that would be what he continued to do until he made a full recovery. 

“Wait, did I hear Felix say that you were injured too, Changbin?” Callie interrupted, eyes falling downwards to see his arm being used as a support around his waist. “What happened? Tell us everything.”

In as little detail as possible, not wanting to waste time on meaningless specifics, as well as trying to avoid anything that may cause either mother to go into cardiac arrest, Changbin retold the evenings events, how it was that the Queen had known of their relationship, how she was going to keep Felix locked away and maybe Changbin too for entering the Fae realm without her permission. 

Changbin did get a smack on the arm from both Callie and his mother when Felix decidedly gave his input and told them of how the Shadowhunter had offered up his own freedom as a bargaining chip to try and free Felix but avoided any more bruises when he stated that he had been overestimated and won in the end. 

“There is something that you should know though. In granting Lix his freedom, the Seelie Queen ultimately banned you from ever returning to the Fae realm again. You are now branded as Wild Fae.” 

Preparing himself for a little backlash, hating that he had locked both Fae out of their home and was unable to get to any of Callie’s belongings from her house that she had built her life upon, Changbin stood tall, willing awaiting any repercussions that may come his way. 

“That is alright.”    


As his head snapped up in shock to stare at Callie’s smiling face, Changbin felt his fingers being taken by another, turning to see Felix sporting the exact same smile as his mother, so bright and full of sunshine. 

“It is?” 

“Yes. I've always hated it there. The only reason that I ever stayed after Felix was born was because I knew that the Queen would not let us escape. She claimed him after I fell pregnant and if I tried to run away with him, she would track us down and kill the both of us for treason. It was the only way to keep him safe but now that she will no longer come after us, we can start a new life here instead, in the human realm. We can find somewhere to live and we will be just fine.”

Changbin had always assumed that Callie wouldn’t have stayed in such a terrible place unless it was necessary and of course, the reason had been Felix. She would move heaven and earth for her son and Changbin was comforted by the fact that Felix was as lucky as he was to have a family that loved and cared for him so. 

“And until you do, you are staying here with us.”

While he was about to say that he would help them find a suitable accommodation, Changbin knew that he wouldn’t have any kind of authority to allow Downworlders to stay at the Institute. Woojin would, of course, being the one with jurisdiction over the running of their home but it wasn’t like he was able to give any orders at this time. Changbin could have tried to play the ‘Downworlders in need’ card to house them here but he got the distinct feeling that Yunseok would find a way to overturn his decision. Other than that, there wouldn’t really be a viable reason to let Downworlders stay in the place that was only meant to house Shadowhunters. 

But when it was his mother that said it, Changbin thought that she would fight tooth and nail to make sure that nobody could throw away her decision like that. 

“Oh, no Areum, we couldn’t possibly-”

“It is not up for debate. I insist,” Areum argued, not letting Callie get another word in on the subject. “You are staying here at the Institute until you can find a suitable place to call your home.”

Both Callie and Felix seemed to be at a loss for words or any comprehensible ones, at least as they quietly babbled on how thankful they were for the Shadowhunters’ kindness. Not only had Changbin saved Felix from a terribly unknown fate but now, Areum had given them sanctuary in the one place that they knew they would be safe until they managed to find their feet again. 

“Thank you, Mom,” Changbin whispered, wrapping his free hand around his mother’s shoulders and pulling her in for a side hug, doing his best not to put any pressure on his possibly broken ribs. 

Areum immediately returned the embrace but was much more gentle about it this time around as she kissed her son’s temple before turning back to their new live in guests. 

“Even though it may not be much, Changbin, would it be alright if I used some of my magic to patch up those wounds of yours? I’d like to do that as a form of thanks since you would not have them if you didn’t go to save my Felix,” Callie beamed, obviously proud that she had come up with some small way to show her appreciation to the young Shadowhunter. 

His own angelic blood would heal his injury in maybe a day or two but if Changbin could lessen the time it would take, not having to deal with the irritating pain of it, then he would gladly accept the help from the Faerie, nodding to show how appreciative he was of the suggestion. 

“Now, you both must be exhausted. After your dealings are done, Changbin will show you to two of our guest rooms and I will let everyone know that you will be staying here for a while.”

“Lix can stay with me in my room, Mom.” 

That dangerous aura with which Changbin was familiar surfaced again, one that told him that, despite how proud of him she was for what he had done to save both Faeries, his mother did not take well to the idea of him sharing a room with Felix at this very moment. 

“You will show them to  _ two  _ of our guest rooms, Changbin. Now, go. Tout suite.” 

Blushing at the implication his mother was trying to suggest, even though that particular thought hadn’t entered his head, Changbin scowled at Areum for even trying to hint at such a thing, hearing a little giggle from Callie to his left and a small noise of confusion from Felix who obviously didn’t have a clue at what was going on between all of them. 

“Well then,” Changbin grumbled but brightened up when he saw Areum’s glower from the corner of his eye. “Let me show you to  _ two  _ of our guest rooms.” 

* * *

As the sun began to break through the clouds, the downpour that had been falling since they had returned to the Institute the previous night nothing but a bare mist now, Jeongin and Seungmin walked side by side as they traversed down one of the main streets of the city towards their first destination of the day. 

Despite having somewhat reconciled after their argument last night, there was still an uncomfortable tension flowing between them. When Jeongin thought about it though, his apology for what happened, what he had screamed about his best friend’s boyfriend, it seemed like he had only said it so that Seungmin wouldn’t make him leave, which may have been true in the moment. In hindsight, it didn’t sound all that genuine when he spent all night trying to comfort the Shadowhunter after he had broken because of the combined stress of both Hyunjin and Woojin’s situations, scenting and cuddling him as much as he possibly could. Jeongin slowly began to realise how truly harsh he had been, that he didn’t actually believe everything he had claimed about Hyunjin, that it had more so been his wolf saying all of those things because of the fact that Seungmin had been hurt because of the Vampire. 

But he couldn’t find the words to say that for some reason. It felt like they were on the tip of his tongue, he was so close to just telling Seungmin how he felt about all this again but if he was going to do it, he needed to do it within the next three minutes. 

The moment that the sun had begun to shine through the stained glass windows of the Institute, Seungmin had jumped up and headed straight to his room. Once he had showered, dressed himself, applied fresh gauze to his neck and checked on Woojin’s condition, the Shadowhunter had said that he was going to see Hyunjin, which didn’t really mean anything to anyone but Jeongin himself since he was the only one besides Changbin who knew and the elder Shadowhunter had disappeared a few hours ago and had not returned.

And while Seungmin had continually said that he would have to do this on his own, Jeongin didn’t like the idea of leaving Seungmin out of his sight, even when there hadn’t been any new demon sightings in about three or four hours. He would never admit that he was feeling this way though; he didn’t want to give Chan the leverage to say that every time he had accompanied him everywhere was justified. Still, Jeongin told the other that he would at least escort him some of the way, thinking that maybe he could drop in to check on Yedam since he had left his apartment so abruptly last night. 

That’s how they ended up here, approximately two blocks away from Yedam’s apartment and, more importantly, from where the incident that had ripped the three of them apart had occurred. Neither of them said anything. For Jeongin, it was because there was a terrible sense of shame eating him up. For Seungmin, the wolf was sure that it was just because he was thinking about what he was about to face on his own. 

Jeongin took one last step before they were right in front of the door to Yedam’s building, where they were to part, much to Jeongin’s chagrin. Staring at his feet, the Werewolf almost missed the way that Seungmin was pouting at him before he was about to take off to go and try to locate Hyunjin. 

“Innie, there’s no need to be worried. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to his hotel, it’s right around the corner, only a street away. I’ll be fine on my own,” Seungmin reassured his friend, taking his hand but not getting any response from the younger. 

The wolf wasn’t so much worried about Seungmin making his way to the hotel by himself since the demons had been pretty much eradicated but what would happen once he was there because he knew that the redhead was still blaming himself over what had happened. He had no idea how the interaction would go between the two of them; that is, if Hyunjin was even there. Seungmin was hopeful that he was but there was always that chance that Hyunjin had disappeared off the face of the earth because Jeongin knew, after seeing his reaction last night, that the Vampire had been utterly disgusted with what he had done. Jeongin himself knew but in the moment, his wolf hadn’t cared, only interested in protecting Seungmin and getting him to a safe place. 

“Hey, chin up, pup,” joked Seungmin playfully, knowing that Jeongin wasn’t all that fond of the nickname but it did the job and got the younger to look up from his feet so that he could scowl at Seungmin. 

“Not funny.” 

“What’s wrong, Innie?” sighed the Shadowhunter, like he didn’t want to deal with a sulking child at the moment; far more important things needed to be done. “If you’re going to tell me to stay away from Hyunjin…” 

Jeongin figured that if he was ever going to get this weight off of his tongue, it should probably be now, knowing that if Seungmin didn’t manage to locate his boyfriend and reconcile, it would make it seem like he would only be saying all of this to make him feel better, not sincere in the slightest. But he  _ did  _ mean what he was about to say and he needed Seungmin to know that. 

“No, that’s not it. I…I wanted to say that I was sorry again, for what happened last night,” the younger mumbled, barely audible enough for Seungmin to hear but surprising the elder enough for him to look ashamed of being ready to scold him before he had heard what Jeongin wanted to say. 

“Innie, we were both at fault for that. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you either.” 

“You wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t said what I said though,” Jeongin reasoned, going against his wolf’s wishes to to avert his eyes from Seungmin’s intense gaze. “And I never should have said it. I don’t want you to think that I only apologised last night so that you wouldn’t make me leave because that’s not true. I really do regret everything. I shouldn’t have spoken about Hyunjin like that.”

Seungmin’s eyes softened in understanding, realising that Jeongin wasn’t annoyed because he didn’t want him to go and find Hyunjin but that what had happened between them last night was still hanging on his mind. 

“Calling him a…monster because he lost control was wrong. Out of everyone, I should know that sometimes, you can’t help the other side of you, the one that has a mind of its own.”

When Chan had first tried to teach him how to control his wolf, Jeongin was scared out of his wits, barely coming to grips that there was something inside of him, something that could take over his consciousness at any time without his permission. It had been one hell of a long road before Jeongin managed to get some control over his wolf, even though it still managed to gain control in times of immense stress.    


“When I first encountered Yedam, I got so spooked by seeing him again that when I was running home, thinking about how he would probably think  _ I  _ had turned into a monster, I lost control and shifted, luckily just outside the woods so nobody saw me but I didn’t tell my wolf I wanted to change. If someone other than Chan found me, I could have hurt someone too. So, I should have been a hell of a lot more understanding than I was last night. And for that, I am sorry, Seungminnie.” 

His wolf gave a little huff, like it didn’t entirely agree with Jeongin’s apologetic words but why would it when it was being compared to the Vampire side of Hyunjin, something that had attacked a member of his pack last night? But as a small growl rumbled in his chest, a warning from Jeongin to his wolf to quieten itself, he felt it back away a little bit, letting Jeongin know that he was getting much better at being in control than he thought. 

“Thank you, Innie,” Seungmin breathed in relief, bringing Jeongin into his arms before the wolf could even process what was happening. “Hyunjin really isn’t a bad person, I can attest to that. It won’t happen again and thank you for saying all of that. Maybe…you could tell him all of this yourself after I manage to speak with him.”

‘If.’ Jeongin didn’t want to sound like an asshole by correcting his friend by saying ‘if he managed to speak with him.’ If Jeongin had been the one in Hyunjin’s shoes, he would probably run to a place that nobody could find him and isolate himself for as long as possible. However, he wasn’t going to say any of that right now. 

But saying all of that to Hyunjin himself if that were the case? Jeongin didn’t know if he was quite there yet. Maybe after he spent some time with Yedam, he would find himself to be in a better mindset, the possibility of every coming face to face with Hyunjin without his wolf having a complete meltdown becoming more feasible. For now, all he would do was smile at Seungmin with a very taught grin, a slight nod of his head letting his friend know that he would think about it. 

“I’ll be off then, ok? I’ll text you to let you know when I’m finished. I’m sure Chan wouldn’t want you walking around by yourself either.”

Jeongin assumed that Seungmin was right on that point, not that he would know since he actually hadn’t seen Chan since he left for the outing with Hyunjin and Seungmin yesterday afternoon. In a time like this, where his mind was in complete turmoil and he really could have used some guidance, Jeongin would have felt much more reassured if Chan had been beside him but that just wasn’t possible right now. He wasn’t the one that really needed him the most right now. After hearing of why it was that Chan was staying with Woojin from Changbin, knowing what he did about his alpha, he agreed that he should have stayed with the eldest Shadowhunter, that his wolf would probably not let him be anywhere else. 

“Yeah, I’ll stay here until you call. If it gets too late, I might call someone from the pack to come and get me,” Jeongin smiled, thinking that he could ring Wonsik since he had already spoken to the elder to let him know what was going on with Chan since they had been paired up before Jisung and Changbin had taken him away. 

“Ok, see you later, yeah?” Seungmin promised, hugging Jeongin tight once more, feeling the younger hug back this time. 

With a terse nod, Jeongin began to scent Seungmin once more, for his own peace of mind more than anything else before he let the Shadowhutner go, watching him walk away from him as his wolf quietly began to whine for letting him go on without him. 

Stepping over the threshold of the entrance door, Jeongin thought that he probably should have let Yedam know that he would be coming over but he very impolitely hadn’t. Now that he thought about it, since Yedam did have his own life, his former partner might not even be home but thankfully, when he knocked on his apartment door, it took all of ten seconds for it to be answered. 

“Jeonginnie, thank goodness you’re back!” Yedam croaked, flinging himself into the wolf’s arms and when Jeongin brought his arms around to return the embrace, he was met with Yedam’s damp, bare skin, his shirt obviously forgotten somewhere after his shower as it was replaced by a towel slung around his shoulders. 

He hadn’t expected Yedam to be this overemotional but when he remembered their encounter last night, he realised why that might be. 

Before the whole mess last night, Jeongin had thought his only problem would be checking up on Yedam and making sure that he was alright. He had bounded up the stairs, straight up pummeled the door down before a highly confused Yedam had opened it, not even having time to say hello before Jeongin was darting into his living room, holding the younger by the shoulders and asking him if he was alright in a thousand and one ways. 

When Yedam had realised why it was that Jeongin was there, having seen the random increase in demons walking around the street, he tried to reassure Jeongin that he was more than capable of keeping himself hidden; he had been doing it since he was a kid. It had let Jeongin relax a hell of a lot, though he hadn’t even known why it was that his wolf was so hell bent on getting to Yedam and making sure he was safe. He was not opening that can of worms when he heard his wolf growling something that sounded suspiciously like ‘mate.’ No, he wasn’t going there yet. 

But then, he had heard it, the most terrible and fear filled scream he had heard in a very long time. The last time he had heard something like that, something that made him stomach twist up into knots, was the night that his life had been changed forever, when his father had tried to shield him and his mother from the savage monster that his brother had become. His father’s yells at them to get away before he was torn apart, his mother’s cries as the rogue wolf had caught up with them before they could escape. Jeongin never wanted to experience anything like that again but it was a familiar voice that found its way to his ears, making him stand to attention before stopping Yedam mid sentence, telling him he had to go before immediately shifting as he leapt down the stairs, hearing Yedam calling out behind him. And, once again, he had walked into a problem that had changed numerous relationships in his life. 

He could definitely understand why Yedam may have been worried about him, made glaringly obvious by the way he hadn’t let him go. And really, Jeongin couldn’t find it within himself to let go just yet. The only hug he had gotten all night was from Seungmin but that had been Jeongin’s way to help Seungmin’s state of mind. This, right now, was for Jeongin’s sake and he was relishing in the warmth of his former best friend, someone whose hugs had always brought him a great form of comfort. Yedam had been that person for him growing up, the one that made everything alright by doing the bare minimum for him. He had always been the one. 

“Hey, Yedamie,” Jeongin whispered as he laid his head on the younger’s shoulder but raised it immediately when he felt Yedam jolt in place, knowing something was wrong. “What? What is it?” 

It worried him even further when he saw the young man tremble slightly, a slight sheen making his eyes look glassy, even though he was doing his best to prevent Jeongin from looking at him. 

“It’s just…I haven’t heard that nickname in almost six months,” Yedam laughed wistfully, seeing the blush creep across Jeongin’s face and making his giggles turn into those of teasing. 

“That just slipped out,” the wolf grumbled but didn’t fight against it when Yedam pulled him into the apartment, closing the door softly behind him as if Jeongin was going to run away again like he had done the previous night. 

“So, about what happened last night, do you want to talk about it?” Yedam carefully asked, not wanting to do anything that made Jeongin uncomfortable. 

“Maybe later,” mumbled Jeongin, not particularly wanting to speak about his self loathing all over again. 

As he moved further into the apartment, seeing as how he hadn’t had time to take a proper look at it the last time he had been here, he noticed that Yedam seemed to take his advice into account about keeping a tidier home. There was no trash around the place, it looked like the place had been spotlessly cleaned, the boxes that had littered the floor full of his unpacked belongings were finally gone and most strangely, the makeshift bed that been set up on the small couch was no longer there, the duvet and pillows back in their rightful place in Yedam’s bed that Jeongin could see out of the corner of his eye. 

“Why did you come here?”   


The question broke Jeongin out of his reverie, turning his head towards Yedam who was already pouring the boiling water into the cups for their tea, even if Jeongin wanted to say that he could sure use something stronger right about now. 

“I’m not quite sure,” he answered truthfully. 

Jeongin’s go to person when he was unsure what path he was supposed to walk down to get to the best resolution to his problems was currently incapacitated with far more important things. Of course, he could go to someone in his pack or one of his friends at the Institute but there was something in his heart that told him that this was who he needed to go to for comfort, like he always had. His soul craved familiarity and it sought out Yedam for that particular reason. 

“Would it maybe be ok if I just hung out here for a bit?”

Placing the mugs of steaming liquid down on the coffee table in front of the TV, Yedam huffed with a shake of his head, a small smile wanting to break through if the corners of his mouth twitching was anything to go by. 

“You know you can always come here, Jeonginnie. Why don’t we just sit for a while, get some blankets, order pizza and put on a movie and, when you’re ready, you can decide if you want to tell me what got you running like your tail was on fire last night?”   


With the last click on his phone screen to input their order for food, not needing to ask Jeongin what he would like since it was always the same every single time when they were young, Yedam picked up the fluffy blanket that had been draped over the back of the couch, throwing it over Jeongin, who found himself already sitting on the couch without even realising his feet had moved of their own accord. 

This was exactly why Jeongin had subconsciously veered towards Yedam’s home when he wanted someone to soothe his worries. He didn’t have to say a single thing to the younger for him to know exactly how he could be cheered up, something that was a great relief to him at the moment, not needing to think about anything but relaxing. 

“Ok.”

“Ok?” Yedam hesitated, flopping down on the other side of the couch, clearly still unsure of the parameters of the boundaries between the two of them. 

But when Jeongin buried deeper into the comfort of the blanket, shuffling closer to the younger and gripping his arm, brushing his nose off of the soft fabric of his woolen sweater, Yedam realised that maybe, those barriers that had separated them for far too long were slowly beginning to crumble back down. 

“Ok.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Softness!  
So, about the chapter next week, the one you people have been hounding me for. You will finally get your Seungjin but will things go the way all of you think?  
Also, I think I've streamed God's Menu enough that I'm singing it in my sleep but I will continue to do so because it is my fav album ever! They worked so hard and I am so proud of them.  
Anyways, I'll see you next week! ❤


	45. Acquiesce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to upload this earlier but my wifi just completely gave up on life but it's back on track now!  
I'm not even going to say anything about this chapter, just gonna let your imaginations run wild. Let's go!

Seungmin could hear his own blood rushing through his ears as he pushed on the spinning doors of the Sapphire Crown hotel but he was unable to distinguish if it was due to him being nervous about Hyunjin not being here or uneasy that the Vampire  _ would  _ be here and how he was supposed to approach him after what had happened. 

When he had gotten into the confrontation with Jeongin last night, after the wolf had called Hyunjin a monster, Seungmin began to realise that there was absolutely no reluctance in his heart when it came to wanting to protect Hyunjin, hoping to reconcile as quickly as possible so that this issue didn’t become aggravated and intensify. And as Seungmin decided this, he also came to the conclusion that the fear that had been consuming him last night, making him incapable of helping Hyunjin there and then, had been thoroughly stamped out. All that was driving his thoughts now was the fact that he needed to see Hyunjin and let him know that he forgave him for this, even when Seungmin thought himself that there was really nothing to forgive but he was sure the Vampire had a completely different attitude on the subject.

Looking around the foyer as he entered, everything seemed to be perfectly peaceful, nothing out of place that would make it look like an uncontrolled, berserk Vampire had rushed through here last night. Still, Seungmin had no idea where he could look if he didn’t start here. If he was going to find any clues about the elder’s whereabouts, he was sure that he would have at least told one of his clan members where it was that he would be going. 

And Seungmin would put his faith in the person that he knew Hyunjin trusted the most, eyeing Jinyoung at the concierge desk, the raven haired man appearing to be completely sapped of his energy, solemn being too weak a word to describe how awful the Vampire really looked. It was clear he was trying to hide it as he attempted to assist those coming to the desk, forcing that customer service smile that Seungmin was all too familiar with from his job before he had been found by Changbin and Jisung and joined the Institute. He was wise to the sly deception and would not be fooled by such a tactic. 

Waiting his turn behind the rather statuesque woman in front of him, Seungmin fidgeted restly, hoping that Jinyoung would be able to tell him where Hyunjin was. More importantly, if he did know, then Seungmin wished that the Vampire would actually be willing to divulge that information to him. There was always the possibility that Hyunjin had told him not to let Seungmin know about his location but the Shadowhunter wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to get that sort of intel. But there was no way Jinyoung didn’t know what was after happening, Seungmin’s suspicions being more than confirmed when Jinyoung saw him as the lady thanked him and moved to the side, the Vampire’s eyes nearly popping out of his head at the mere sight of the redheaded Shadowhunter, like he hadn’t expected Seungmin to show up here in a million years. 

“Hey, Jinyoung,” Seungmin breathed with a cheerless smile, resting his arms on the marble countertop. 

“Hi, Seungminnie. What brings you here?”

A feeble attempt at trying to play out this false front he was putting up, as if he had absolutely no idea what had happened the previous night. Seungmin wouldn’t fall to such terrible acting though, not when he was on a mission that would be completed, no matter the ramifications. 

“Come on, Jinyoung. Don’t do that. You know why I’m here. Where is he?” 

Apparently, the Vampire had been ordered not to say anything to Seungmin, confirming the younger’s fears that Hyunjin was definitely blaming himself for this, when he shrugged his shoulders and looked behind Seungmin at the next customer who needed assistance. But before Jinyoung could call them forwards, Soobin jumped in next to him behind the desk, holding the same sort of stoic ‘grin and bear it’ expression. 

“I’ll take the next customer, Jinyoung. Why don’t you take a break and keep speaking with Seungmin?  _ Please _ ,” the younger Vampire beseeched with panicked eyes, turning to gesture the customer behind Seungmin up to the desk. 

Jinyoung understood that he would not be able to run away from this, that this wasn’t a matter that he could draw a veil over. He realised Seungmin deserved to know but, more than anything, he came to the conclusion that he  _ wanted  _ Seungmin to know because he was probably the only person that could stop this whole mess from escalating the way that Hyunjin had planned. 

“He’s still here in the hotel. For the moment,” Jinyoung sighed defeatedly but that fact let Seungmin relax just a little bit. 

He was worried that he would have to go running around Seoul or even further to try and track down the Vampire but he was still right here in the hotel. However, what Jinyoung meant by ‘for the moment’ shook Seungmin more than he would have liked to admit, the implication being that Hyunjin would soon be leaving but Seungmin was going to do whatever he could to make sure that didn’t happen. 

“Fine, then I’m going to talk to him. Is he in his room?” Seungmin questioned, already moving towards the grand staircase. 

“He doesn’t want to see anyone, Seungmin and he told me that…he especially does not want to see you, that I should do everything I needed to stop you from going up there if you came.” 

That stung but Seungmin knew that this was just Hyunjin’s way of trying to protect Seungmin and himself. The Shadowhunter still didn’t know what kind of state the elder was in. He could only imagine he wasn’t doing all that well but that was exactly why he was here, to try and fix everything. Surely Jinyoung understood that. 

“Do you know exactly what happened last night?” Seungmin whispered softly, trying to appeal to Jinyoung’s sense of kindheartedness.

“He told me as much as he was able, seeing as he was basically just screaming about how much of a monster he was. Trying to calm him down was a task in itself, even if I didn’t succeed but I eventually got the gist of it. Are you alright?”

Seungmin wasn’t entirely sure what it was that Hyunjin had told Jinyoung since he had the exceedingly tilted viewpoint that what he had done was the most unforgivable and loathsome act he could have ever committed. Perhaps he was wrong but Seungmin got the feeling that Hyunjin hadn’t even told Jinyoung the whole story, how it was that Seungmin was the one to put them into danger, that Hyunjin had tried to stop him but had also ultimately ended up saving his life from the demon that they had fought. It had probably been a story moulded around the main event, making himself look as terrible as possible. 

“I’m fine, Jinyoung. It was just a little bit of a shock but I’m perfectly ok. It wasn’t that big of a deal.” 

There was a beat of silence when neither of them were quite sure what to say but Seungmin could see Jinyoung subtly sneaking a peak at the bandage currently around his neck. Based on what Hyunjin had told him, Seungmin was aware that all Vampires have to go through a period of trying to control their bloodlust when they are turned. Jinyoung no doubt went through the same thing himself all those years ago and to know that Hyunjin was hurting because of one little slip up that could happen to any of them at any time must have been painful to endure. 

“He’s thinking about turning himself over to the Clave, Seungmin.” 

The blood that had been racing through Seungmin’s ears stopped abruptly, the sound being replaced by nothing before the ever increasing thumps of his heart that echoed far too loudly. After all of his attempts to stop what had happened between him and Hyunjin from spreading, it was apparently all going to be for naught when Jinyoung had said that Hyunjin would be the one to turn this into a much bigger problem than it needed to be. 

“What?! No! He can’t do that! I won’t let him!” 

“And you think I would?” Jinyoung cursed, letting his head fall into his hands in defeat. “I’ve tried talking to him, Seungmin but he won’t listen to me. No matter what I said, he kept trying to shout over me, saying that he doesn’t deserve a second chance after what he did to you. Then he screamed at me to get out of his room and leave him alone before he threw a glass at the wall beside my head when I refused. That was when he came home last night and I haven’t seen him since then.” 

Seungmin  _ knew  _ that Hyunjin was not going to handle this whole thing well when he ran away from him and Jeongin the previous night. Of course he wouldn’t. How could he when the one thing that had tormented him his whole life had come to pass once again? Seungmin knew but he didn’t think that it would have intensified into something like this. 

“I’m going to go and speak with him,” the Shadowhunter affirmed decidedly, hurriedly walking away from Jinyoung.

“Seungmin, you can’t-”

“You gonna try and stop me?” Seungmin exploded, a face full of fury staring Jinyoung down as the Vampire gently held his wrist to try and honour his clan leader’s wishes. 

The volume of his yells attracted a bit of attention, with Soobin and the customer he was helping, along with one or two people sitting down and enjoying some coffee, turning towards the two young men to see what all the fuss was about. 

“Huh?” Jinyoung stammered, letting go of the Shadowhunter’s wrist as Seungmin tugged it away from him with an uncharacteristic harshness.

“If I start walking up that staircase, are you going to try and stop me? Because if you think for one second that I am simply going to turn away from this and walk out that door, letting Hyunjin tear himself apart by thinking that he’s something that he’s not, then you are sorely mistaken, Jinyoung!” 

The lobby had gone silent, all eyes upon him now after his outburst. Seungmin had never been one to seek out being the centre of attention. In fact, it had always put him on edge to be in the spotlight in any sort of situation but right now, he couldn’t care less how many people were looking at him or what they were thinking about him. Some people were aware of why his frustration had boiled over from the context, while others were blissfully unaware but Seungmin didn’t care about anyone else right now. He was going to get to Hyunjin, even if he had to fight off Jinyoung to do that. 

The Vampire let out a lengthy sigh, turning away from Seungmin to retreat back behind the desk and rummage around for something out of the Shadowhunter’s view. Clicking a few times on the mouse of his computer, Jinyoung grasped something in his hand before returning to Seungmin, holding a golden keycard out for the Shadowhunter to take. 

“You remember the room number, right?” Jinyoung mumbled, seemingly embarrassed that he hadn’t just done this from the very beginning and allowed Seungmin to go to the person that needed him the most. “I don’t want to lose my friend either, you know.” 

And even though Jinyoung had only been trying to follow Hyunjin’s orders of not letting anyone see him, Seungmin realised that he in no way wanted to do that. Hyunjin wasn’t just seen as the clan’s leader, he was also their friend, their family and when he had decided to tell Jinyoung that he would be handing himself over to be executed, it must have absolutely decimated the elder in every way possible. Jinyoung respected Hyunjin enough to attempt to stop Seungmin from going to him but as his friend, Jinyoung would undoubtedly do anything to hinder Hyunjin’s plans to give his life up because of a mistake that wasn’t even being held against him by the person he had hurt. 

“You won’t, I promise. Thank you, Jinyoung. I’ll sort this whole thing out. Don’t worry about him,” Seungmin insisted, pulling Jinyoung in for a short hug full of thanks. 

Sweeping his feet off the immaculately clean carpet of the staircase, Seungmin managed to catch Soobin soothingly rubbing Jinyoung’s back out of the corner of his eye, thankful that the Vampire had the rest of his clan to rely on in a time such as this because Seungmin knew that he wasn’t the only one having trouble dealing with Hyunjin’s impulsive and foolhardy decision. 

The last time Seungmin had been in Hyunjin’s room, it had been so incredibly lovely. Well, it was more of a small apartment within the hotel but Hyunjin had told Seungmin that all of the rooms were of this standard; Downworlders staying here until they got back on their feet would need a decent place to live. They had put on  _ ‘Lilo and Stitch’ _ , grabbed some snacks from the kitchen and flopped down on the Vampire’s bed before Hyunjin pulled him impossibly close, nuzzling into his neck like a kitten, probably trying to inhale as much of Seungmin’s scent as he could. After the movie, Seungmin had become sleepy, so Hyunjin told him to get a little shuteye, that he would look over him and wake him when it was time to go back to the Institute. That’s what the Vampire had done when the sun began to set on the city, placing light, feathery kisses all over his face, so as not to frighten him when trying to get the younger to come back to him. 

Seungmin got the feeling that the mood of the particular scene he was about to walk in to would be vastly different from back then. 

Taking a much needed deep breath before putting the keycard into the slot, Seungmin felt like he really needed to prepare himself for some sort of fight, what kind though, he was completely unsure. Trying to convince someone to change their mind on something that they had already decided was a challenge and a half in itself, especially when it was something of this calibre. 

The card slid in easily, the beep and little green light signifying that the door was now open, allowing Seungmin to step inside the sunless room that held none of the promising cheer it had the last time he had entered it. It took a moment for the Shadowhunter’s eyes to adjust as he blinked rapidly to try and make out where Hyunjin might be. A loose floorboard creaked beneath his weight, destroying any hope of trying to be stealthy about this. 

“I told you to leave me the fuck alone, Jinyoung,” came a shredded voice from the shadows, causing Seungmin to freeze in place. 

Trying to focus in on the form huddled on the small settee, Seungmin closed the door behind him, taking advantage of the fact that Hyunjin wasn’t aware of who it really was that had entered his room. The Shadowhunter couldn’t see the elder’s face since it was buried into his knees, hands curled around his ankles but if Seungmin would base his opinion of Hyunjin’s condition by just the Vampire’s voice, he would guess that Hyunjin had become hoarse from crying all night long. 

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m not Jinyoung then,” Seungmin defended, startling a little when Hyunjin spun around in his seat, jumping up and retreating about ten steps back. It was then that Seungmin saw that his theory was correct, the Vampire’s cheeks still stained with red lines. 

“W-what the hell are you doing here?” 

“I came to speak with you, Hyunjin,” Seungmin whispered, placing the keycard down on the desk beside the wall and trying to catch the elder’s eye. 

“I don’t want to talk to you, Seungmin.”

The bitterness in the Vampire’s voice cut Seungmin deep but he just had to keep telling himself that this was simply the way that Hyunjin was trying to protect himself, to try and keep Seungmin at arm’s length for fear of hurting him again. And as much as Seungmin wanted to speak soft vows and tell Hyunjin that all was forgiven, he knew that first, he would have to crack that hard shell of self hatred and loathing that was sheathing his heart. 

“Hyunjin, you don’t have a choice in the matter. We have to talk about this.”    
  


That seemed to stun the Vampire, that the usual sweet and calm temperament that the Shadowhunter exuded had suddenly up and left but then again, Hyunjin knew that he didn’t deserve to be spoken to in a compassionate kind of way right now. 

  
“You can’t have a conversation with someone when one side refuses to talk, Seungmin. There’s no reason for you to be here, so just go home already.”

“No.”

The dark luster in the Vampire’s eyes intensified as he stared Seungmin down after his outright refusal to leave, ruby flecks beginning to show in his irises. For some reason, it stirred up memories of last night for Seungmin, making his mouth go dry when he remembered what had happened next but unlike how he had frozen on the spot previously, this time around, Seungmin would do no such thing. He wouldn’t let Hyunjin think that he had to fight his battles alone. 

“Get out, Seungmin!” the elder yelled, tapering fangs being put on display to try and warn Seungmin that he was not playing around. 

“Make me.” 

A rush of wind disorientated Seungmin before he found himself being pushed up against one of the walls behind him, a hand planted firmly in the middle of his chest to keep him there. It shocked the Shadowhunter enough to let out a yelp but it was more because of surprise of how fast things had happened rather than anything else. 

Hyunjin’s face was mere centimeters away from his own now, close enough that Seungmin could see that the Vampire’s eyes had been completely overtaken by the blood red telltale sign that he was furious about his little defiant rebellion, or so he would like to have Seungmin believe. 

“If I were you, I’d listen to what I’m telling you to do, Shadowhunter,” Hyunjin growled, tightening his grip on Seungmin’s shirt 

And to anyone else, it might have looked like a truly hopeless situation that Seungmin had placed himself in but it was the subtle flick of the elder’s eyes that ruined any pretence of anger he was trying to establish that would maybe have fooled an outsider. Despite having him pushed up against the wall while harsh warnings were filling up the room, Hyunjin was, in no way, trying to harm Seungmin. If anything, he was being even more gentle than would be required in a situation like this. The bandage on the side of Seungmin’s neck kept attracting the Vampire’s attention, even when he didn’t even seem to notice his eyes continually being drawn to that area. 

Regardless of what Hyunjin was trying to do, intimidate and terrorise Seungmin enough that he would go running for the hills, the Shadowhunter knew the real meaning behind his boyfriend’s actions, why it was that they were in a position such as this one. And he almost felt bad when he saw the terrifying look on Hyunjin’s face fall, the one that the Vampire had been trying so hard to maintain, when he began to chuckle sadly at how unrelenting Hyunjin was trying to be in his attempts to drive him away. 

“This is your plan, is it?” Seungmin scoffed, placing his hands over Hyunjin’s and holding on, even when the elder tried to pull away with a fathomless look on his face because of the compassion he was now receiving. “Acting like a big, bad, ferocious Vampire in an attempt to scare me off? Pretending to be what you think the world sees you as because of last night? Trying to make me out to be the bad guy by getting me to end this? Sorry but this little act won’t work on me. I know you, Jin. Don’t run away from this. Step up and talk it out with me.” 

While they didn’t extinguish the fire in his eyes, Seungmin’s words appeared to chip away at the root of the problem in Hyunjin’s heart, enough for the Vampire to take a step back, tearing his hand away from Seungmin’s and using them to scrub at his cheeks and erase any proof of his claret tears. 

“What is there to possibly talk about, Seungmin? What is it that you thought you would accomplish by coming here?” 

“I needed to let you know that what happened last night wasn’t your fault, that nobody blames you for what happened.”

“Ha, I think Jeongin would disagree with that statement,” Hyunjin retaliated as he walked towards his glass of blood he had left lying on the coffee table, bringing it to his lips but halting before he took a sip, scrunching his eyes shut as he placed it back down again. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if anyone else does. I know that what I did was wrong and more than that, it’s illegal.” 

“Is that why you’ve come up with this fantastic idea of turning yourself over to the Clave?” Seungmin badgered, becoming increasingly riled up over the fact that Hyunjin didn’t want to listen to him. 

Dramatically rolling his eyes, Hyunjin mumbled a hundred curses under his breath, subtly trying to move as far away as he could from Seungmin since his initial plan of trying to scare the Shadowhunter off had failed quite spectacularly. 

“Jinyoung can’t keep his goddamn mouth shut! I told him not to tell anyone about that but then again, I also told him not to let you anywhere near me, so I guess he doesn’t care enough about me to listen to my orders,” the Vampire ranted avidly, clearly trying to figure out how to divert Seungmin’s attention away from the topic of him planning to walk to his own death. 

“Hyunjin, will you just stop? You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. This has nothing to do with Jinyoung. Did you really think that I would turn around and leave because he told me to? Please stop attacking everyone who is trying to help you.” 

“I didn’t ask for anyone’s help!” 

And while Hyunjin had said he hadn’t asked for help, what Seungmin heard was that he didn’t think he  _ deserved _ anyone’s help. This problem had broken his heart so much that he had begun to push away those who wanted to support him the most. Hyunjin had friends, family and he clearly thought that, because of what he had done, he had let them all down, sure that none of them would want anything to do with him for his most deplorable misdeed. 

“It doesn’t matter if I turn myself in of my own accord or not. The Clave will end up finding out about it and charging me eventually since it was a Shadowhunter that I…” Hyunjin whispered as he trailed off, not even being able to say the words that were causing such a severe storm to brew inside of his head. 

“No, they won’t. 

With a small huff, Hyunjin shook his head at the thought, like the very idea of him being found innocent in any of this since there were witnesses and clear signs that Seungmin had been fed upon, even if it was currently being masked by the white bandage. It would require some sort of miracle for his actions to be excused in the eyes of the Clave. A Vampire feeding upon a human was a grave transgression but when it was a Shadowhunter? That was dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on his own death warrant. 

“I certainly won’t be telling them,” Seungmin stated, causing a frown to wrinkle the Vampire’s brow. “The only other people who know about this are Innie and Bin and both have agreed to keep silent on the subject. The wound will heal up soon enough because of my blood and it won’t leave marks because you didn’t turn me, right? That’s the way it works?” 

Seungmin already knew he was right on that front. Vampire’s fangs would only leave scars if the particular feeding they were made from had managed to turn the person who was being used. Even though he had been trying to take in as much information about Downworlders since the moment he had entered the Institute, once he had begun dating Hyunjin, Seungmin did his very best to become acquainted with everything to do with Vampires since he wanted to know everything he could about them. Being a Vampire was a part of who Hyunjin was and one of those strange facts that he had come across was that a bite mark would not leave a scar unless the person had been turned. When he heard about how it was that Hyunjin died, it made sense since he had been drained of his blood by his sire, only to die a mortal death straight after because of his wounds from the fight. But Seungmin would not inherit them since he had not been turned, thanks to Jeongin. 

“So, if there’s no evidence to prove what happened and nobody is going to tell them, how could the Clave ever possibly find out?” Seungmin reasoned with adamance. 

Resting his palms on the small dining table in front of him, Hyunjin let his shoulders sag, his fingers curling in on his palms until his nails began to cut into his skin, letting the pain consume him, like he deserved. 

“Why are you doing this, Seungmin?” Hyunjin challenged, feeling his ire rise at the blatant disregard of all of the worries that had been tormenting him since last night. “Why the hell are you trying to cover this up? After what I did to you, I don’t understand why.” 

When Hyunjin asked him those questions, Seungmin couldn’t grasp why the Vampire was unable to see the reason that he would want to try and save him from such a conclusive end. It should have been plain to see why he was here and even attempting to speak to the elder. If he was truly hurt by Hyunjin’s actions, he would have stayed as far away as humanly possible. But here he was, working to save the relationship that Hyunjin had apparently given up on already. 

“I don’t think that what happened between us requires me to forgive you but if that’s what you need to hear to finally allow your mind some peace, then I do. I forgive you, Jin. Everything is alright. See? I’m the same awkward dumbass that I’ve always been,” Seungmin laughed as he tried to bring up the mood, though it didn’t seem to be working. “This was just a one time mistake.”

“But what if it wasn’t?”   
  


Seungmin had started to move towards Hyunjin as he curled in on himself but when he heard the Vampire say something like that, he retracted the hand that had been reaching for the elder’s shoulder, watching him walk away from him once again and place himself on the couch. Being this close to Hyunjin this whole time but not being able to hold him like he was used to was hurting Seungmin so very deeply. 

  
“What if this wasn’t a one time thing? What if I lose control again? What if I hurt you and there’s nobody around to stop me next time? Seungmin…I could have killed you.”

He could have but he didn’t and Seungmin had the feeling that if Hyunjin was willing to give them another chance, the Vampire would do absolutely everything within his power to make sure that nothing like this would occur a second time. This was a one time thing because Hyunjin would never let it happen again.

Seungmin’s thoughts on the matter were abruptly interrupted when he felt his wrist being held by trembling fingers, the contact he had been deprived of all this time making him feel so much more secure and soothed now that Hyunjin had been the one to make the first move despite how he had acted earlier. The Shadowhunter had been reluctant to try and force Hyunjin to accept his touch, knowing that could do more harm than good but the elder had reached out to him. However, when it was accompanied by his crimson tears once again, Seungmin knew that the last admission of guilt, the thoughts of how he could have had to live with himself after murdering Seungmin, had final driven the final spike into the Vampire’s heart and caused any walls he had up to fall and tumble down.

“I don’t want to be a monster, Minnie…”

If Seungmin’s heart wasn’t broken before, it most certainly was now. Hearing the confident and boisterous Vampire being reduced to nothing more than sorrowful whispers was agonising, causing Seungmin to drop any idea of trying to maintain a decent distance to give Hyunjin his much needed space, sitting himself as close as possible to the distressed Vampire. 

“Hwang Hyunjin, you look at me right now,” Seungmin demanded, his tone contrasting greatly to his actions as he gathered the Vampire’s face up in his hands like he was the most delicate and fragile person in existence. “You are  _ not  _ a monster, do you hear me? You are not.”

Seungmin’s insistence was being disregarded as Hyunjin closed his eyes, like he couldn’t stand looking at the Shadowhunter who tried to assert his belief that the elder’s soul was just as pure as his was, something he didn’t think was warranted after what had happened. 

“You are the kindest, sweetest, most caring person that I have ever known and I can’t believe I was lucky enough to find someone like you,” Seungmin proclaimed. 

He absolutely hated how Hyunjin continued to shake his head in disagreement at the well deserved praise, thinking that none of this was true, that he couldn’t see his true value and worth the way that Seungmin could. 

“I’ve been through a lot, Jin, you know that and you are honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me. This one mistake does not define who you are, especially when you’ve done too many extraordinary things to count. You are such an incredible person and I trust you more than anyone else. I love you so much, Hyunjin, so please don’t push me away.”   
  


With those words, hearing Seungmin say that he still trusted him, Hyunjin did actually stop struggling to try and get away, letting the Shadowhunter breathe a little easier since he was at least somewhat getting through to the elder. Physically, Hyunjin might have ceased his fight against Seungmin’s arms but the mental battle he was currently fighting was ongoing as the unusual tears persisted and carried on falling.

  
“I don’t want to think about my life without you in it anymore and I don’t know what I would do if you were to go to the Clave because of this, if I were to lose you because of this one mistake. Call me selfish if you want but I’m begging you, please don’t leave me, Jin. Stay with me, love. Please, don’t leave me alone.”

Sobs of agony such as those leaving the mouth of the Vampire had never been heard by Seungmin before. Hyunjin began to crumple down, hands coming up to claw at his hair as his cries increased in volume and intensity. Seungmin couldn’t hold himself back anymore, reaching forward and embracing his boyfriend like he always did to try and pacify him. 

Hyunjin was such an incredibly sensitive person and Seungmin absolutely adored that about him. But in times like this, it just meant that he felt the pain of this blunder ten times more than anyone else would have and Seungmin couldn’t help when his own eyes began to slowly fill with tears at the sight of Hyunjin in such a weak state. 

“Minnie, I’m so sorry. I love you too. I never meant to hurt you, I don’t want to lose you. I can’t believe I did this to you. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” 

For ages, it was just the same phrase repeated over and over again until Hyunjin’s throat was raw from overexertion and as much as Seungmin tried to calm him, nothing seemed to break through the Vampire’s circuitous wails about how incredibly regretful he was for ever hurting him in such a brutal way. It was not the time to focus on the important point that this had been the first time that they had told each other that they loved one another but it thawed Seungmin’s heart, even when he hadn’t realised it had been frozen. 

“Jin, it’s alright. I’ve forgiven you. You don’t have to apologise to me anymore. You’re forgiven, love. We’re ok,” Seungmin expressed, running his thumbs across the Vampire’s cheeks to erase his tears. 

As he did so, it occurred to him that he would probably be making more of a mess than doing good since he would no doubt be smearing the blood across the elder’s face and his own hands. He began to retract his hand and look for something he could use to clean his fingers and stretched out his hand to grab a spare towel next to the bed, doing his best not to move Hyunjin from the position against his chest as he continually sobbed, even if he was beginning to quieten down somewhat compared to earlier. 

The weirdest thing was that, when Seungmin curled his hand around the soft blue fabric, he noticed that they were completely clean, a sheen of clear liquid covering them instead and when he rubbed the tip of his finger against his thumb, it felt just like water. Which didn’t make sense until he looked down to the Hyunjin’s face, seeing the elder’s eyes closed as he tried to decrease his choppy breaths and noticed that the red lines had been replaced with crystalline droplets, sparkling tears that were beginning to wash away the remnants of blood. 

He couldn’t understand it, why Hyunjin was crying real tears just like he was; he had never heard about such a thing before, not in the numerous books he had read on the subject but before he could ask, Hyunjin’s arms snaked their way around his neck to pull him closer for a hug, tiny, desperate sniffles making Seungmin forget about his confusion and just pull Hyunjin close and try to settle him. 

While his tears had almost immediately stopped after that, Hyunjin still hadn’t relaxed, not wanting to leave Seungmin go for fear of the Shadowhunter just suddenly disappearing on him in a time when he needed him the most. Seungmin gently took his hand and guided him into his bedroom, lying down on the comfortable, firm mattress and pulling Hyunjin down along with him. 

After the taxing spectacle that had been the last hour, Seungmin felt completely and utterly drained, the fluffy pillow beneath his head lulling him into an increasingly listless state since he had not slept at all last night but he would not heed the call of sleep right now, clasping Hyunjin’s hand tightly in his own as they lay side by side, simply staring into each other’s eyes. 

“Are you alright, Jin?” Seungmin breathed, afraid that if he spoke any louder, he would break the momentary peace they had been surrounded by. 

“Not really, not yet,” answered Hyunjin honestly, gripping the younger’s hand just as tightly in his own. “I just…can’t believe I broke like that. I don’t remember anything about it, like someone else was controlling my body.” 

Even though Hyunjin was constantly beating himself up over attacking Seungmin, he admitted that he hadn’t even been the one leading his actions, the primeval part of himself taking the reins away from him. Seungmin needed to assure him over and over again that none of this warranted the type of punishment he was giving himself, not when he wasn’t the one to instigate such behaviour. 

“You know that it wasn’t your fault, right?” 

“Minnie-”

“No,” Seungmin interrupted, bringing his free hand up to drag it through the Vampire’s hair, making him completely melt at the touch. “I’m not even talking about what you did but the events leading up to it. I’m the one who ran into the fight so haphazardly, completely disregarding my training. If I had listened to you, then we wouldn’t have been in that kind of mess. And for that, I am sorry, Jin. I never wanted you to get hurt because of me. I’m sorry for putting you in that situation and causing you to relive one of the worst things that ever happened to you.” 

Because it was. Even after going through war, being killed in action, having to outlive so many of those he considered friends, seeing the worst that humanity had to offer, nothing compared to the torturous day where he had fed off of Yuta, defiling his mentor and friend’s body and violating his trust. Knowing that he had been the one to make Hyunjin repeat something like that against his will was making Seungmin feel like a truly terrible person. 

“Hey, I can practically hear what you’re thinking. None of that,” Hyunjin consoled, delicately kissing the younger’s knuckles. “I forgive you, Minnie.”

“You can excuse my actions so easily but not yours, even though you are just as worthy of forgiveness. That doesn’t seem fair to you, Jin. Please, try to. For me?” 

It was a highly unfair ploy, having to keep using Hyunjin’s love for him against him to get the Vampire to try and let go of the past but if it worked and Hyunjin began to see the brighter side of things again, he wouldn’t mind too much. 

“I’ll try harder for you, Minnie. Anything for you. Just…give me some time to come to terms with all of this. It’s not an easy thing to get over. I’m not sure if I ever will.”

Of course it wasn’t, Seungmin knew that but he wanted to let Hyunjin feel that it wasn’t as big as he was making it out to be so that he didn’t spend too long fussing over it. 

“We can do it together, yeah?” Hyunjin whispered, a small hint of torment still finding its way into his words, like he was scared that the Shadowhunter would disagree with his wish. 

But all that did was disperse any of the fears that remained in Seungmin’s heart, the ones that didn’t believe that Hyunjin wouldn’t stay with him, that he may still offer up his life to right his wrongs, that he would leave Seungmin behind because he thought he would be better off without him. But Hyunjin wanted to do this together, by each other’s sides because to get through any trials and tribulations that life may throw at them. 

“Together, Jin.”

And for a moment, things seemed like they would all come together and remain peaceful but when he thought about it, Seungmin knew he couldn’t afford to be away from the Institute for too long, not just because of the fact that everyone was on high alert from the attacks but because he wanted to be there when Woojin woke up, to make sure that he was alright. 

“Did…you hear about what happened last night?”

“With Wooj?” Hyunjin questioned, intertwining their fingers and snuggling into Seungmin even further as the younger nodded sadly. “Yes, I did. Bin messaged me last night just outlining the details. I presume this was after you came back because he didn’t say anything else to me, just about Wooj’s condition. I wanted to go straight there too, I just…didn’t know if I would be welcome.” 

“You are always welcome at the Institute, Jin, no matter what. Bin said he would contact me if anything came up but we can head back there soon anyways.”

After asking if he could possibly come with him when he decided to return home, to which the Shadowhunter had replied ‘of course’, Hyunjin thanked Seungmin for actually coming to see him since he was so sure that the younger would never want anything to do with him. He was ashamed that he had considered that Seungmin would abandon him but he promised that he would spend the rest of his life making this up to his boyfriend, even when Seungmin insisted that he didn’t have to. 

For the moment, they would take a little more time to recuperate together while cuddling on Hyunjin’s bed. They would head back soon but Hyunjin knew that he should be prepared to apologise to others and explain what had happened to him last night; not everyone would be as forgiving as Seungmin had been but he wouldn’t judge anyone for that. 

“Once he’s feeling better, I think Wooj will want to talk to everyone about some stuff. Things have stayed hidden for far too long now and there beginning to come together.”

Seungmin didn’t ask him what he meant, he knew that Hyunjin probably wouldn’t tell him anyways since he wanted to wait for Woojin but he got the distinct feeling that something within these hidden secrets had to do with him. Call it a gut feeling but Seungmin thought that things were about to get even more complicated than they already were. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like I had let the kids suffer enough in their lifetime so they got somewhat of a happy ending, even if Hyunjin is still blaming himself but he won't run away anymore.   
Next week, there is even more Seungjin. You've been without for so long that I'm giving you extra. And also, we have Minsung with one of my favourite scenes but I shall keep silent on that one. See you all next week!


	46. Reprehension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. I have another chapter for you guys today, one that I enjoyed writing a lot. I'm so behind that I haven't managed to answer any comments from last week but I will get to them, I promise! Ok, on we go!

“So, Bomi used to belong to Jihoon?” 

“Yes.”

“And her name back then was Jumun?” 

“That’s right.”

“But now she’s tied herself to you?” 

“Just before you woke up.”

“And she used to watch over Seungmin before he came to the Institute?”

“Pretty much.”

“But you can’t tell me why?”

“Not just yet.”

“And this is all part of a bigger picture?”

“I think so, yes.”

“Ok. Well, now I’m more confused than ever.”

Minho couldn’t help but chuckle at the flummoxed look on Jisung’s face as his brain tried to make sense of everything the Warlock had told him. It had been a rather long night as Minho tried to go into as little detail as possible when it came to why Bomi had protected them both from Yunseok. 

According to his watch, it was just after nine in the morning. Woojin’s condition hadn’t changed, which, as Areum had said, wasn’t a particularly bad thing. Minho hadn’t seen anyone else but Areum herself coming in and out of the surgical suite, other than when Jeongin and Seungmin had come to say that they were going into town for a little bit. Jisung hadn’t gone back to sleep since he had woken up just before Yunseok had strolled in and the mousy haired young man had jumped up to protect his brother, so the lack of rest probably wasn’t doing anything good for his ability to process everything Minho had told him. 

“That’s ok, baby. I’m still keeping a lot of things from you that would help you make sense of it but just know that, at the moment, it’s to keep you safe. Once Wooj wakes up, we’ll discuss this with everyone,” Minho promised as he laid his cheek on Jisung’s head, the Shadowhunter cuddling into his neck with one leg thrown over the Warlock’s. 

“So many secrets that I’m not privy to but it seems like it’s always been that way.”

The sliver of sadness in the Shadowhunter’s voice made Minho move his head and maneuver himself, dragging Jisung’s other leg up onto his knee and tilting his chin upwards so that he could look him straight in the eye. 

“You better not be beating yourself up for not realising what was keeping Chan and Wooj apart. That was not your fault, Sung. The only reason Bin knew was because he overheard it. Hell, Chan didn’t even know!” 

It was like Minho was trying to convince himself of that too because he had also been blind to the real reason that two of his friends had been hurting so much, especially Woojin. All the magic in the world couldn’t help him when he tried to drag the reason out of the Shadowhunter, not if he wanted to stay Woojin’s friend anyway. Going inside someone’s head against their will was possible but that would have ruined a hell of a lot of friendships if Minho ever decided to use that sort of method. 

“Yeah but maybe if I had paid more attention, insisted that Bin be more forthcoming with me, I could have figured it out. I was so caught up in my own head that I completely missed how the answer was sitting right in front of me all along.”

Jisung would always like to admit that he knew his brothers better than anyone else, despite what others may say but he had been so in the dark, deceived by the two most important people in his life that had guided him in so many ways, even if it was to protect him in the end. Minho had been too caught up with his own life as well but the way Jisung had put himself down about his lack of concern for his friends made the Warlock feel uneasy. 

“What do you mean caught up in your own head?”

“Just with my own problems. You know, e-everyday things,” Jisung stuttered when he realised what he had said and to whom. 

If Minho knew anything about Jisung, it was that he got awfully flustered when he was caught unaware, usually when he was lying or got too lost in his thoughts that he didn’t have any sense of what he was actually talking about. 

“Which were?”

Minho knew what was coming. It was pointless in trying to make it seem like he was oblivious because Jisung would be able to pick up on his terrible acting. Minho knew that the thing that had caused Jisung to overthink so many times over the last few months was the same thing that had caused him to break down earlier in the night. 

“Mostly, the thing with us, me liking you and whatnot.” 

And there it was. Even though they had talked everything out, come to terms with each other’s sufferings, it still hit Minho like a train when Jisung would say that he was the one that had made him fall into a state where he thought he could never possibly be good enough for someone like him. If anything, he thought that Jisung was almost  _ too  _ good for him, not that the Shadowhunter would believe him if he said that. 

“God, I’m sorry I was dragging you along for so long, Sung. What kind of friend was I not to notice what you were going through?” Minho fretted with a detectable guilt, trying his best to make amends for his prior mistakes by kissing the tips of each of Jisung’s fingers, making the younger snicker at the action as the feeling sent tingles down his spine. 

“It’s in the past, Min. How about we both agree that neither of us were attentive enough when we were just best friends and that we will be a hell of a lot more conscientious as boyfriends, ok?” 

Boyfriends. Minho really liked the sound of that. It was back when he was in his teens, when he was trying to figure out which way his heart was telling him to go, that he had played very loosely with the idea of having a boyfriend, girlfriend or partner. Even when he thought he was just getting to that stage in the relationships that he could start defining it as such, something would always get in the way, usually on his side of things when he decided that he didn’t want to put labels on the relations he had. Hence, how his lifestyle choice over the last five decades came to be. 

But now, Jisung had said it so openly, so matter of factly and Minho absolutely loved it, wanting to hear it from Jisung’s lips as often as he possibly could. He would never hurt the Shadowhunter again; he made that promise from the moment he realised how spectacularly he had fucked up.

“I’m telling you right now though, if I had known what that bastard was up to, I would have torn him apart from the get go.” 

Jisung was feisty when he got angry, like some sort of crazed squirrel hopped up on sugar at an amusement park but it was something that Minho had found adorable in a way. Changbin had always been seen as the one with superior fighting skills because of his more muscular build and well thought out strategies but Jisung had a speed and tenacity that his  _ Parabatai  _ didn’t have, something that he had used to his advantage in brawls many a time. 

“You know, when you stood up to Yunseok earlier, it was really hot,” Minho purred charmingly, getting a really big kick out of Jisung’s flaming red cheeks at the statement. “Who knew Han Jisung had a thing for bringing down the hierarchy?” 

“Hey, don’t get overly cocky just because we’ve sorted some of our shit out,” Jisung huffed, the adorable little tint of crimson on his cheeks never fading. 

“If you don’t know that I am cocky every single second of my life, then you don’t know me very well, baby.”   


If Minho had enjoyed teasing Jisung before, it was nothing compared to now when he knew those kinds of words could get him really riled up. Placing an arm around his waist as the younger’s legs were still sprawled over his, Minho quickly pulled Jisung close, their lips about a centimeter apart, something which Jisung apparently couldn’t take his eyes off of and Minho had to wonder how many times he had thought about kissing him over the months, more than quick make out sessions on his couch but had been too insecure to do so. 

“Where do you think this kind of bold behaviour will get you?”

“Only a very good place, I assume,” Minho concluded, closing the remaining distance and languidly moving his lips against Jisung’s own. 

He could torment Jisung all day about wanting to kiss him but Minho was exactly the same, if not worse. In the many times that he had kissed Jisung, it had a sort of emptiness to it but now, the teensy little sparks that flashed behind his eyelids every time he felt Jisung’s skin touch his own let him know that his heart and head had made the right decision in finally deciding to convey his feelings. Jisung was the one for him, always had been and always would be. It had taken him too long to figure it out but nothing on this earth could take the Shadowhunter away from him now. 

“What the fuck?”    


Well, maybe one thing could.

“Bin?” 

Minho could already feel the beginning of the violent shakes in Jisung’s body since he was still pressed up against him, too stunned to pull away, even if his head had whipped around to look at his  _ Parabatai  _ who was now standing at the other end of the hallway, apparent shock evident on his face because of what he had just walked in on, Minho and Jisung casually making out in their own little world. 

“What the hell is this?” Changbin demanded, disbelief carving itself into the young man’s face. 

It was no secret why Changbin would have been raging at the idea of Jisung being with Minho when he hadn’t realised that they had just professed their feelings for each other. They would always joke about how wanton Minho could be; he himself had said that this type of promiscuous lifestyle suited him and that he never had to worry about attaching himself to one person. But if there was one person that you didn’t want to take advantage of or mess around with when it came to Changbin, it was Jisung. Fiercely overprotective and vigilant about his safety to a fault, Changbin definitely played into his role as big brother when it came to the mousy haired young man that was still frozen against Minho’s chest. 

Minho remembered the aftermath of the Christmas Eve incident. He had been in America for a conference and hadn’t actually been at home for that particular evening but when their meeting had been interrupted once the news was known, Minho had gathered every ounce of magic he had available to portal back to the Institute. Over such a long distance and the short amount of time he had to build up his magic for the spell, it had almost completely drained him but when he walked through the gateway he had created, the exhaustion had swiftly worn off. 

Madness. Complete and utter madness. The messenger who had delivered the alert to the council of Warlock’s said that the explosion had occurred at around seven p.m in Seoul but the news had been delayed getting to them and by the time Minho had gathered enough magic for the portal, it was nearly five in the morning when he had gotten back but it didn’t seem to make a difference because it was like it had just happened with how the Institute was so immersed in mayhem and destruction. 

He had done his very best to help out in any way that he could, attending to the wounded, trying to find beds for people or at least somewhere they could house those who were in shock. Downworlders and Shadowhutners alike could be found there, all of them rushing to one of the places that they knew they could find sanctuary. 

Whilst applying a soothing balm to the charred leg of a Vampire who had been near the center of the city when the explosion went off, Minho had seen Woojin rushing up to him and embracing him in a bone crushing hug. Back then, being only fifteen and still in the middle of his training, Woojin hadn’t been allowed out in the field thankfully and that could only mean that Seungmin, Jisung and Changbin hadn’t been either. The boy had been helping out with crowd control but when he had seen that Minho was back, he relayed every little detail that he could have to him. 

It absolutely pummeled Minho’s heart when he heard that both Jisung and Seungmin’s parents’ bodies had already been recovered from the city, that there had been no chance to save them and now, Seungmin was also missing. How something like this could have happened was beyond Minho but once things had quietened down, he went in search for the boy who could use all the comfort he could get. 

Moving to Jisung’s room, he could hear the destruction before he could see it. Peeping through the small crack of the door that had a dent by the handle, Minho could see the boy having a complete meltdown, flinging things off of his desk, kicking his chair, smashing a poor forgotten flowerpot that housed a plant that looked like it hadn’t been watered in about a year against the wall. Minho wanted to rush in and try to calm him but he soon realised that Jisung wasn’t alone. Changbin stood helpless in the middle of it all, tears flowing freely as he watched the boy only one year his junior self destruct after seeing the bodies of his mother and father, confirming the worst thing he could possibly ever know. 

“Sungie, please stop!” Changbin yelled, though it wasn’t in anger but desperation. 

“Why?! Why should I stop?! Everything has been taken away from me, Changbin! You have no idea what I’m feeling right now! Just leave me alone!”

And Minho had to wonder if Changbin would, if he would heed Jisung’s wishes and step away but he realised he should have known better when he saw Changbin grab onto Jisung’s arm to stop him from breaking a picture frame, one that held a beautiful memory of him and his parents last Christmas, one that Changbin knew would make Jisung hate himself if he broke it. The younger boy struggled in his hold and continued to do so when Changbin pulled him close to his chest, hushing him with all the compassion he could find, running his fingers through his brother’s hair when Jisung let go of his anger and gave into the grief that had been manifesting itself in such a destructive way but had now turned to wails of lamentation. 

“They’re gone!” Jisung cried hysterically as he clung to the back of Changbin’s shirt. “My mom and dad are gone! It feels like something was ripped out of my chest and the pain is getting worse. It hurts, Binnie. Make it stop. It hurts so much. I want them back. I need to tell them that I love them again. I need to hug them one last time. Please, I want my mom and dad back. Bring them back. Please…” 

Minho wished that he had some power that could ease Jisung’s emotional suffering. Cuts and bruises were an easy fix for him but losing a loved one in such a way, those who had cared for and cherished you their whole life, was something that he could not mend, not even in a world full of magic. 

“I’m so sorry, Sung,” Changbin consoled, weeping just as much as Jisung but doing it in a much softer manner. “I don’t know how to make it stop and I wish I could bring them back for you but I can’t. Just know that you aren’t alone, ok? You’ll always have me and I will take care of you, Sung. I promised your parents that I would always look after you and I will honour that for as long as I live. I’ve got you, kiddo. I’m right here. Always and forever.” 

It was that early Christmas morning that made Woojin say he knew Jisung and Changbin were meant to be  _ Parabatais _ , such an unbreakable bond could be seen by anyone who looked at them. The weeks that followed found Changbin by Jisung’s side at all times. He made breakfast for him every morning, helped him to get dressed and wash up. He stood by his side when they trained together and held his hand when they would go to the many hospitals in the city to see if they could locate Seungmin. Every night, Changbin would lay right beside Jisung and hold him close when the terrible nightmares would wake him up and he wouldn’t be able to stop the tears. Changbin kept his promise to protect Jisung and it became apparent to everyone that he would lay down his life for the younger. That promise also came with the fine print that said, if you were to hurt Jisung in any way, your life would come to a swift and gruesome end. 

And after observing the scene in front of him, Changbin obviously thought that Jisung was just next in line for Minho, some toy to cure his boredom and even though he had felt that way towards a few people in his time, he had never, not once, thought that way about Jisung. He had always been special to him but Changbin would first need to get rid of that cloud of red rage currently fogging up his vision to be able to see that. 

“Bin, hold on a sec. Don’t get the wrong idea-” Minho began, getting cut off by Changbin as the younger began to stalk forwards. 

“No,  _ hell _ no. This is not happening. I refuse to allow it.” 

Yup, there it was, the big brother instinct coming into play. Minho thought that sometimes, Changbin seemed to forget that Jisung was twenty two years old, not the same kid he had been back then on that night and even if he liked having Changbin as someone who would always protect him, this was probably a way in which Jisung would feel a little overwhelmed with how strongly he was intruding on decision he had already made. 

And it made Minho a little sad when he thought about how much Jisung cared about Changbin’s opinions of him, so much so that he was currently shaking in Minho’s arms, hiding himself in the Warlock’s neck as soon as he saw Changbin come closer with his raging disapproval. He knew that Jisung wasn’t going to stand up for himself since he was sure that the Shadowhunter wanted to reveal their relationship to their friends in a very different way compared to this and to hear Changbin say with his whole chest that he opposed the two of them being together must have been a really hard thing to hear. So, Minho thought he would do his job in protecting Jisung this time and take the lead. 

“Bin,  _ this _ -” Minho emphasised as he pointed to his own head before moving to Jisung’s, the Shadowhunter still hiding away in his neck. “-has been going on for over seven months.” 

“What?!”   


Changbin’s shrill scream echoed throughout the corridor, all of them wincing when they heard a slight growl coming from the ICU room at the end of the hall where Chan was still sitting with Woojin, the volume of the scream obviously bringing out the wolf’s protective instincts over the injured Shadowhunter. 

“Well, not technically. We were only kind of seeing each other for kicks, nothing serious. You know, Jisung just wanted to relieve some stress and-”

“Min, if you do not shut the fuck up right now, I am going to end things with you without so much as another word!”

A threat that came with Jisung quickly slapping his hand over the Warlock’s mouth, like he thought Minho would keep talking about their fling, ignoring his complaints. 

“So, Jisung, you’ve been lying to me? Sneaking around to try and hide this?” Changbin complained accusatorily, doing his best to catch Jisung’s eye, even though the younger was still pressing his face into the Warlock’s throat. “Is this where you’ve been going when you wouldn’t be in your room in the mornings?”    


Apparently, that tactic of Jisung’s obviously hadn’t worked out all that well. The Shadowhunter had always said that the reason he had to leave so early in the mornings was so that Changbin didn’t find out that he actually hadn’t been in his room all night like he should have been. Jisung had never told him that Changbin had been wise to the fact that he had snuck out on a few occasions.

“Wait, is he the reason I was feeling your pain through the bond? That time when I asked you about where you had been all night?”    


That made Minho wince harshly, enough for Jisung to sneak a peek at his face. Of course Minho knew that Jisung had been hurting throughout the time after speaking with him earlier in the night but for it to have been enough for Jisung’s pain to be felt by Changbin through their  _ Parabatai  _ bond meant that it had been so potent that it actual managed to affect Changbin as well. Jisung didn’t need to answer the elder’s question, Minho’s reaction would have been enough for Changbin to come to his own conclusions. 

“Are you kidding me? In what way would you think I would approve of this then? You guys just playing around? This is ridiculous! Did you honestly think I’d be ok with how you’ve hurt him like this, Minho? And Jisung, how could you be so stupid? How could you be happy with just being another way to pass the time for him? I thought you valued yourself more than that, wanting to be more than a plaything-”

“Changbin, shut up!” Jisung raged, finally pulling his head away from Minho and staring his brother straight in the eye with such a ferocious look. “You don’t know anything! I love Min and he loves me! We may have started out with just a physical relationship but it’s become so much more now! I want to be with him and if you don’t like it, then fuck your opinion! I’ve never, not once, questioned your feelings for Felix, nor have I ever said anything bad about him. If you don’t like the idea of us being together, then fine but don’t you dare say that this isn’t real. I can make my own decisions about my romantic relationships, about everything in my life, despite what you so clearly think. I am an adult, I love Min and I want to spend my life with him so  _ stop  _ talking to me like that!”

The outburst surprised Minho but not as much as Changbin who seemed to completely shut down because of the extreme acidity in Jisung’s voice that he had only been the receiver of maybe once or twice in his life. It could only mean that Jisung felt very strongly about what Changbin had said, enough to tell him that his opinion didn’t matter in this situation. If he wanted to go out with Minho, even if it went against Changbin’s wishes, then that was exactly what he would do. 

“Hey, Sung, it’s alright. You’re ok. Take a deep breath for me, baby,” Minho comforted as he brought Jisung close to his chest again, hearing the Shadowhunter inhale loudly through his nose. 

“Sorry but he shouldn’t have said things like that about you.” 

Minho stifled a laugh when he thought about how Changbin hadn’t really said all that much about him that hadn’t been true when it came to other people he had gone out with. Changbin had more so been chiding Jisung for his own choices like a child but Jisung didn’t seem to care about that, just what it was that he was trying to imply about Minho himself. 

“Thank you, Sung but I’m alright. He’s only upset because he thought I was going to hurt you, which I did.”

“I hurt you too,” Jisung pouted against Minho’s hoodie, the Warlock also having changed into some spare clothes of Woojin’s when Jisung had gone to shower. 

“Like you said, baby, it’s in the past. Everything is alright now,” Minho reassured as he hugged Jisung tighter before looking up to see Changbin still awkwardly standing there, somewhere in between feeling embarrassed for ever losing his cool like that, speaking about two of his closest friends in such a impolite manner and utterly confounded that Minho was being so sweet and gentle when it came to calming Jisung, a side that Changbin had never seen before. 

“Bin, we’re sorry for keeping this from you but Sungie is telling the truth,” Minho explained, patting the spare seat beside him for Changbin to join them, even if Jisung refused to look at him right now. “Things have changed and he isn’t just a way to pass the time. Jisung has always been special to me. While our relationship started out like that, Jisung realised he had feelings for me a few months ago and while it took me a little longer for me to understand it, which ended up hurting him, I realised that I felt those things too. It was only when I got back tonight that we sorted our feelings out. I love him, Bin. There isn’t anyone else for me. He’s the only one I’m going to see from now on, I promise and I’ll do everything within my power to make sure he knows he’s loved every single day for the rest of his life.”

He could see Changbin contemplating his words, sizing them up and trying to see if the appropriate amount of weight could be found within them.

“Really?” Changbin mumbled, still unsure as to whether Minho was being sincere. 

“Really. I promise, Bin.”

The look in Minho’s eyes was enough for Changbin as he slowly nodded his head, grimacing when he saw that Jisung was still avoiding him, his head turned the complete opposite way. 

“Sung?” Changbin sighed. “Will you please look at me?” 

Albeit unwillingly, Jisung barely moved his head so that he could look at Changbin with one eye, a disgruntled look scrunching up his nose. He was obviously waiting for an apology but he assumed that if he waited long enough, his brother would come through and live up to his expectations. 

“I’m sorry. You’re right, I should have listened to you first and I shouldn’t have said those things about Min. I’m sorry about that too,” Changbin admitted, looking at Minho with the second part of his apology. “And I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way either, Sung.”

When people were earnest and gave heartfelt apologies, Jisung was never long in forgiving them. He always had the mindset that holding onto a grudge over something small would just end up becoming toxic for everyone involved, so if the person who had done wrong was truly sorry, then Jisung would find some way to let it go. That’s what made him sit up straight again but he couldn’t find it within himself to let go of Minho’s hand, clasping it tightly with his own. 

“I think the stress of tonight finally got to me and I took it out on the two of you. I suppose it isn’t really my place to intervene in your life. Sometimes I forget that you’re not a little kid anymore. It’s just always been my job to protect you. I made an assumption about something I knew nothing about and that was wrong of me. If you want to be with Min, then I guess my opinion doesn’t matter.”

Maybe it didn’t but Minho could tell that Jisung desperately wanted to hear that Changbin approved of who he had decided to love because he had always valued Changbin’s opinion above anyone else’s. 

“But when I think about it, knowing who the both of you really are, if you guys take care of each other like you say you will, the two of you could be really happy together. I’m glad you both found someone to love in each other. Both of you are dumbasses, so that works out just fine,” Changbin joked, all three of them cracking a smile at the lame attempt at humour. “Just…don’t hide something this big from me again, ok? I hated not knowing why you were hurting and watching you come undone, wondering why you wouldn’t tell me and let me help you through it, like I should have.” 

Jumping up from Minho’s side, Jisung wrapped himself around Changbin like he had all those years ago, happy to hear that Changbin wouldn’t stand in the way of him following what his heart had wanted for countless months. 

“I promise, Bin and I’m sorry for keeping everything from you and making you feel some of my pain. But Min is really important to me, so please be happy for us.” 

“I am, Sung. I was just worried in the beginning but now I see that Min will take care of you,” Changbin placated and he knew that it was true because when he looked at Minho over Jisung’s shoulder and mouthed ‘ _ if you hurt him or make him cry, I will murder you in the most painful way possible and nobody will ever be able to prove it was me,’  _ the look of true disturbance on the elder’s face was a promise in itself that he would keep Jisung content because he would like to live out the rest of his life in peace. 

“So, does anyone else know?” 

“Just Seungmin, he figured it out a while back,” Jisung shrugged, making Changbin mumble something about how blind he must have been not to be able to read Jisung but their friend who had only been back with them for less than two months had been able to see straight through him. 

“Did you come here just to interrupt our make out session or…?”

Minho chuckled when both of them glared at him in annoyance, only for Jisung to end up sitting back in his lap and Changbin squished up against the Warlock’s left arm, like the last ten minutes had been nothing more than a momentary divergence in their friendship. 

“I actually came to ask Jisung if I could borrow some of his clothes.” 

“I don’t think your broad ass shoulders would fit into my clothes, Bin,” Jisung snickered, getting a whack on the thigh for his lame insult. 

“Not for me, asshole. I figured you’re about the same size as Lix and he doesn’t have anything here to change into.” 

“Wait, why does he need something to change into? What is he even doing here at this hour of the morning?”

With a heavy sigh, Changbin had to explain the entirety of the night from when Callie first arrived all the way to the end of the night when he had reunited Felix with his mother, tearing them both away from the evil clutches of the Seelie Queen and throughout it all, both Jisung and Minho had sat quietly without any interruptions. That was, until Changbin managed to close his story.

“So, you’re trying to tell me that, not only did you go to the Fae realm alone, when I was sitting right here and you could have asked me to come with you, knowing how I would react if something had happened to you, you also offered up your freedom, which could have meant that I would never have been able to see you again?” 

The sweet tone that Jisung was using to ask Changbin all of these questions was one that Changbin had always attributed to Jisung before he went on a full bitch mode and started screaming but apparently Minho could sense it too, wrapping his arms around Jisung’s waist and keeping him in place, small brushes of his lips against his neck making the younger realise it was the Warlock’s way of telling him to calm down. When Changbin saw that, he could see how irrational his earlier hissy fit had been because Minho knew Jisung better than anyone else, perhaps beside him and would do anything to make him happy. 

“Now, now, Sung. Changbin just did what he thought was best to save Lix. You wouldn’t have been in the right mindset to go between thinking about Wooj and how worn out you were. Plus, if you went with him, the Queen would have taken that to be an act of invasion. He was just trying to make sure everyone, including himself, was safe. Isn’t that right, Bin?” 

Changbin felt even worse for doubting Minho’s intentions when the Warlock had laid out his thoughts so concisely like that, saving him a possible beating from Jisung when the younger melted a little in Minho’s arms at the little nod Changbin gave at the explanation. 

“I guess that makes sense but you were still too reckless,” the younger whispered. “Come on, I’ll get some clothes for Lix, something nice and comfy after what he’s been through. I could bring him to get some hot chocolate too. And Min-”

“I will call you if I hear anything about Wooj. Yes, baby, I know.” 

Changbin couldn’t help but chuckle at the way Jisung smiled such a big smile at the nickname but regretted it immediately when Jisung kicked the back of his knee, making Changbin stumble and fall to the floor, watching Jisung walk away towards his room. 

“You deserved that,” Minho giggled, lounging back further in the chair and scratching the head of the cat that Changbin hadn’t noticed until now, doing nothing to help the Shadowhunter back up onto his feet. 

“Yeah, karma’s a bitch.” 

* * *

Hyunjin was sure that he had never been this nervous when walking towards the direction of the Institute before. Being the owner of his hotel, he had heard, on occasion, of someone taking residence in his establishment that needed to go to the Institute for some reason or other, more often than not to deal with a demon problem they were having. Whether it was through direct conversation or eavesdropping, sometimes Hyunjin would discover that they were nervous about going to the place where Shadowhunters gathered, their home and for the life of him, Hyunjin couldn’t figure out why. He would always tell them that his friends at the Institute were the kindest souls out there and there was not one single reason to be afraid to go there and speak with them. 

He really wished he could heed his own advice right about now. 

When Seungmin had decided that he wanted to return to the Institute to go and see Woojin, Hyunjin had frozen at the suggestion, frankly terrified of the mere thought of going anywhere near the place right now. While he was slowly coming to accept that Seungmin had forgiven him and it was a  _ very  _ slow process, he didn’t think that everyone else would be as like minded about the situation; a very protective Werewolf with sandy hair coming to mind. The moment he thought of Jeongin, Seungmin’s phone beeped to signify that Jeongin had text him to say that Wonsik was going to take him back to their house to shower and change clothes since Yedam had to go to work and that he would meet him back at the Institute but that he was ok and that he should take his time. 

Even though he wasn’t in such a dark place anymore, he wasn’t particularly in the best state of mind yet either, even as Seungmin clasped his hand in his own, like he was afraid Hyunjin was going to bolt away from him, similarly to how he had last night. The Shadowhunter hadn’t moved more than two feet from his side since they had gotten up from the bed and headed towards the Institute. 

Before he left, Hyunjin was led down the staircase of his hotel, walking into the foyer with a smiling Seungmin, wondering why the Shadowhunter was so happy before he saw both Jinyoung and Soobin twirl around and stare at him with wide eyes before running up to him, wasting no time in wrapping their arms around him, being very careful not to start crying lest they reveal their identities to the few Mundanes taking up residence in the hotel. Hyunjin realised that it wouldn’t have just been Seungmin that would have been heartbroken over him giving himself up to the Clave but his family too, something he should have known from the very beginning. He returned the embrace quickly, snuggling into their arms and apologising to Jinyoung for how he had acted towards him last night, only getting him a wave of the hand from the elder Vampire. As much as they didn’t want to let him go anywhere right about now, both Soobin and Jinyoung knew that Seungmin would take care of him as they went to the Institute to check on their friend and so, they waved him off but not before they gave Seungmin such a terribly uncomfortable looking hug but one that showed how thankful they were for letting Hyunjin know that what happened was not his fault and that he was loved. 

“Jin?” 

Hyunjin hadn’t even realised that Seungmin had stopped walking as he had continued on, nearly walking across a busy street while trying to piece his fractured train of thought together. 

“Hmm?” 

“Talk to me, love. What’s going through your head?” Seungmin urged, pulling Hyunjin towards the side of the path so they could discuss this carefully. 

“Just that I’m not too sure if I’m ready to go back to the Institute yet.”   
  


Maybe Seungmin hadn’t told anyone besides Changbin about what happened but that was enough. Changbin had always been a terrific friend and support for the Vampire. They had spent many nights talking until the sun came up, just because they could. Changbin would often ask for help from Hyunjin when it came to fighting techniques since he was much more familiar and had plenty of experience. The Shadowhunter would then repay him by lending him his favourite books or recommending some awesome new musical artist which kept Hyunjin occupied on the long nights since he never actually needed to sleep, even though he could if he wished. Now, to know that Changbin was aware of how he had turned on Seungmin last night really made his heart shudder. Knowing that he would probably run into Jeongin at some stage didn’t do anything for Hyunjin’s nerves either. 

“I’ll be right beside you, Hyunjin, the entire time. There’s no reason to be nervous, it will be ok.” 

Seungmin being with him was the only reason he had made it this far from his home, the grip on his hand pulling him back from the darkness towards the light that shone from the Shadowhunter. The little gestures that he was bestowing upon him calmed him immensely, the soft touches brushing his hair out of his eyes, the tender smile that made Hyunjin feel like he was home, everything that Seungmin did made him feel like he was just a fool in love, no labels such as Vampire or Shadowhunter separating them. No monster or human either.

Not being able to resist the urge to hold Seungmin any longer, Hyunjin couldn’t help himself when he went gently went to cup the Shadowhunter’s face in his hands but quickly retracted them like they had been burned when he carelessly rubbed off of the bandage on the younger’s neck, the one hiding the injury that was probably still inflamed because of the venom his fangs produced and caused Seungmin to hiss at the pain. Hyunjin lowered his head again, the blame coming back full force when he thought about how, not only had he harmed Seungmin last night but the Shadowhunter was still in pain from the lingering effects. He should have known better than to think that everything would be absolutely fine inside of his head once he had heard that Seungmin had forgiven him. 

“Hyunjin, I want you to kiss me.”   


The out of the blue demand made Hyunjin finally look up, curiously gazing at the redhead with a determined smile set upon his lips. 

“What?” 

“A kiss. I want one.” 

And this definitely came under the category of Hyunjin trying to make things up to Seungmin for the rest of his life. If the Shadowhunter had a demand that didn’t harm himself or others, then Hyunjin was going to be more than obliging. That was what he had decided but as he stepped forwards and went to kiss Seungmin, he felt a finger being pressed to his lips, opening his eyes to see Seungmin grinning slyly at him. 

“Nope, not on the lips.” 

“Minnie, I don’t-” Hyunjin stuttered, not entirely sure where this conversation was going. 

“I don’t want you to keep associating this with something bad. This whole thing is just something that has allowed our relationship to turn down a different path, one that could bring much better things than if it had never happened. Therefore, you have to associate it with something good. A kiss to make me feel better. I want one right here.” 

Hyunjin stifled a scoff when Seungmin tipped the bandage on his neck with his little finger, turning his head to the side to allow Hyunjin to do the deed. While the elder mightn’t have known it since he was most definitely not in control of his tendencies last night but Seungmin knew that this was exactly what he had done when he had become so disorientated by Hyunjin’s venom that he had moved his neck to the side to allow Hyunjin to use him as he saw fit. Now, he just hoped his subconscious also recognised the gesture and allowed him some peace in his mind.

Even though he seemed hesitant to touch the place he had bitten last night, Hyunjin slowly moved forwards, lowering his head a little so that he could press the lightest of kisses to the spot that brought up too many bad thoughts for him. 

But Seungmin was right in a way, as he usually was. As Hyunjin did so, he remembered all the times he had tenderly kissed Seungmin there before, the many raspberries he had blown on the younger’s neck to get him to erupt into a fit of giggles, the soft caresses that would have Seungmin melting into his hands and he remembered that he wanted to do that over and over again for a very long time indeed. Continuing to kiss the Shadowhunter’s neck, Hyunjin quietly grazed his boyfriend’s cheek with his hand before pulling away and resting his forehead on Seungmin’s shoulder, breathing in the scent that had scared him so last night. 

“There you go, love. It’s alright,” Seungmin whispered as he wrapped his arm around the taller’s waist, pulling him close, laying his hand on the back of his head and inhaling the Vampire’s own delicious scent that he apparently wasn’t supposed to possess. 

From there on, since Hyunjin had calmed down substantially, they continued on towards the Institute but with each step, Hyunjin started to become more and more agitated again, despite Seungmin’s constant reassurance. Still, he didn’t struggle when Seungmin began to guide him through the door; he knew that would only worry the younger further and Hyunjin really didn’t want that. 

While he had missed most of the action after he returned home last night, it was still blatantly obvious that something big had occurred when people were still hurriedly rushing around the Institute’s halls, like they would never get where they needed to be fast enough. 

“Things still look pretty busy here.” 

“Yeah, they were probably even busier before I left but I told Bin that I had to go and see you and he didn’t really have a problem with that as long as I didn’t walk all the way on my own. That’s why Innie came with me.” 

At the mention of the young Werewolf, Hyunjin began to frantically look around while stepping about three centimeters away from Seungmin for fear of Jeongin emerging from the shadows to pounce on him and straight up disembowel him for what he had done to his pack member last night. Luckily for him, the pup was nowhere to be found, obviously not having returned from the wolves home yet, something that Hyunjin was thankful for since it would allow him to prepare a little himself more before Jeongin arrived. 

“Good morning, Cherry. Good morning, Hyunjinnie.” 

As she walked by with a clipboard full of indistinguishable writing, Areum greeted both young men with a small smile and a quick nod, barely catching their eyes before it was drawn down to whatever was written in front of her. 

“Morning, Auntie.”

“Good morning, Areum,” Hyunjin said lightly and even though he did his very best to say in the way he usually would, bright and bubbly, the way the woman slowed her steps to frown at him made Hyunjin wonder if she had some sort of secret ability that could instantly detect when someone was lying. Then again, she was a mom and he had the strangest feeling that all of them possessed that talent. And though she might have wanted to stop and ask what the cause could be, when someone called her name further down the corridor, Areum simply smiled and kept on going. 

“So, you got him to come back?” 

And while he didn’t have that much of a problem facing Areum at the moment since she knew nothing about his sins, Hyunjin felt himself go rigid at the sound of Changbin’s voice radiating from behind him as it addressed Seungmin, both turning around to see the raven haired man’s pierced eyebrow arched in surprise. 

The lead weight upon Hyunjin’s tongue forbade him from saying anything, not able to tear his eyes away from Changbin’s expressionless face as he awaited judgement. In his mind, Seungmin was awfully biased in this situation, that because he thought it was his fault, which Hyunjin vehemently disagreed with, Changbin only knew that he had fed off of the younger, someone Changbin was protective of and had always considered a little brother. If he were in Changbin’s shoes, he wouldn’t forgive him so easily, if at all. 

“Yeah, we’ve talked things out and we’re ok.” 

Debatable, Hyunjin thought but he didn’t want Seungmin fretting over something like that. Not even realising his hands had begun to shake for fear of Changbin’s reaction, Hyunjin felt his fingers being grasped tenderly by Seungmin, turning to see the younger shaking his head in sympathy, like he already knew what Hyunjin was afraid of. 

Of course, he really should know his friends better at this stage. 

“You idiot,” Changbin whispered, closing the distance between them and reaching up to wrap his arm around the Vampire’s neck and pull him in for one of the softest hugs that Hyunjin had ever been graced with, the elder being too stunned to reciprocate. “You should have come here straight away so that we could have helped you. I was worried that Minnie wouldn’t have been able to find you and bring you back here. Don’t shut yourself away from us, Hyunjinnie.” 

Doing his very best, Hyunjin managed to repel the need to cry but in doing so, his body was overcome by tremors that Changbin could clearly feel when he tightened his grip to steady him and hopefully put his mind at ease, which seemed to work as Hyunjin finally put his arms around the Shadowhunter, returning the gentle embrace. 

“I’m sorry, Bin. I’m sorry for everything. I swear I’ll never hurt him again. I promise I won’t.”

Hyunjin didn’t see Changbin look over his shoulder at Seungmin, both of them smiling knowingly at one another, neither of them holding any grudges towards the Vampire who regretted everything he had done. 

“If Seungmin has forgiven you, then that’s all that matters. You don’t have to explain yourself to me, ok? These things unfortunately happen, Hyunjin. You’re not immune to something that can happen to every Vampire out there, regardless of age or strength.”

It was true. Every Vampire went through a preliminary period where they would have to learn to control their bloodlust right after they were turned. Hongjoong had been the one to bring him to his first clan who taught him self control and over time, it became easier but the other side of him, the one he learned to repress could break free at any time, no matter how well you thought you had mastered it. One of the downsides of being a Vampire. 

“You’re really not going to report me?”

“Do you think that little of me that I would sell you out to the Clave?” 

Hyunjin immediately shook his head to signify he didn’t because Changbin had more integrity and belief in his friends than most people he had met in his two hundred years of life. Changbin was the one that Hyunjin knew would be a fantastic leader if he was ever needed to fill such a position but he was also the person that, if he was ordered to do something that would harm someone he loved, there was no way in hell he would ever go through with it. He trusted Changbin without question, so there was no way he would ever think that Changbin would report him. 

“That’s because I wouldn’t, dumbass,” Changbin snorted, placing a firm hand on the taller young man’s shoulder. “Minnie, before you guys go flittering off again, I just want to check something with you about the logs for surveillance last night. Just two or three minutes and then you can go do whatever you wish within Hyunjin, ok?” 

Seungmin made a step forward to walk with Changbin but immediately halted, throwing a warning, yet worried look towards the Vampire who looked like he wasn’t going to follow him to do his Shadowhunter business. 

“Don’t go anywhere, alright?” 

“I’ll wait for you right here, Minnie,” Hyunjin promised by using his pinky finger to make a cross over his stagnant heart. 

Seungmin gave him one last pleading look to deter him from running away but Hyunjin felt like emphasising that he didn’t need to. He understood that Seungmin had one wish, for him to stay by his side and he knew that, if he were to leave the Shadowhunter behind now, Seungmin would no doubt blame himself for driving Hyunjin away because of his actions last night. Hyunjin didn’t want Seungmin to keep lingering on the idea that he was at fault for any of this. Plus, he couldn’t keep his promise of making things up to Seungmin if he weren’t there beside him. Therefore, he wasn’t going to move from this spot, even when he felt a set of eyes fall on the back of his head. 

He wondered what kind of result this interaction would bring, whether or not there would be a throwdown in one of the halls of the Institute when he caught eye of the mysterious presence that had just entered the room, the tiniest growl reaching his ears but Hyunjin knew he more than deserved that, along with whatever else the young Werewolf stalking towards him would plan to do to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's hardly any angst at the moment and I feel really weird about that. Eh, it will come later.   
As for next week, I realised that I had like 0 Jilix one on one interactions and thought that was an atrocity. So, some Jilix next week, some Hyunin too and a little scene at the end that means absolutely nothing. But I'm not going to mention what it is. See you next week!


	47. Sanguineness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The weeks seem to be going by so fast. Another one for you. I have, yet again, not answered the comments from last week but from what I've read, some of you are excited for Jilix and Hyunin so I hope you like it.  
I've also reached over 300k words. I promised myself this wouldn't be as long as Phantasm. I feel like I've lied to myself...

“Oh! Sungie! Can I wear this one? It is so pretty. No, wait, this one. I like this one too. This jacket has glitter on it! But this one has flowers embroidered into the sleeves. How do you choose what to wear everyday? Your clothes are all so beautiful.” 

Reclining back on his bed as he watched Felix sift through the clothes that he had laid out for him to choose from, Jisung couldn’t help but smile fondly at the Faerie who was getting more excited by the second at the prospect of getting to wear his clothes. Changbin had left him in his care for a few moments since he said he had gotten a text from Seungmin and needed to go and see him. What was so important that Changbin had to go running off because of a simple message was unclear to Jisung but he had no problem spending time with the Faerie who was so immersed in admiring his things that he didn’t even seem to notice the lack of Changbin’s presence. 

“I am sure this looks amazing on you, Sungie. Here, let me see!” Felix bubbled, holding up an emerald green silk shirt that Jisung wore on special occasions against his chest. 

“It kind of feels like you want to play dress up with me,” Jisung laughed, his smile fading slightly when Felix frowned in confusion, clearly not knowing what the Shadowhunter meant by that. “It’s when you- it’s just- you know what, never mind.” 

Felix merely shrugged before running back to the pile of clothes, most of which Jisung had never even worn before but he always did have a problem with throwing away any of his stuff. A low rate hoarder, something that Changbin always used to strengthen the fact that he was exceedingly similar to a squirrel. 

At a small gasp, Jisung looked up to see Felix holding up a lavender sweater, the colour strikingly similar to the Faerie’s hair but when Jisung realised which sweater it was, he jumped up and took it out of Felix’s hands, holding it close to his chest with an embarrassed smile when the other had jumped slightly at the action. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to lay that one out for you. You can’t have this one,” Jisung mumbled, carefully folding it up and placing back in the drawer of his dresser. 

“Why not? Is there something wrong?” 

“It was a gift I got two years ago for Christmas…from Minho and I don’t like to give gifts away.”

That was true, in a sense. Jisung always liked to keep things that were given to him. It never made much sense to him that you would give away or throw out something that someone who cared for you put time and effort into thinking of, even if it was the most basic of things. On the other hand, Jisung didn’t want to say that Felix couldn't have it because it was Minho that had given it to him and pretty much for that reason only. 

“You truly love him, don’t you?” 

“What makes you say that?” Jisung wondered with a slight stutter, curious as to whether Changbin had told him something about their relationship, before making his way back over to Felix who was slipping a navy, knee length cardigan onto his back. 

“It is more than obvious from the way you look at him. How you have  _ always  _ looked at him. I may not be familiar with many human emotions but love is one that transcends everything and I can truly see it in your eyes when you see him. And when he looks at you, of course.” 

First Seungmin and now Felix. Both had picked up on the way that they had been smitten with each other, even when they both seemed to be oblivious to the fact. Even though it made him thoroughly exasperated when he thought of his own idiocy for never noticing it, it made him feel especially giddy when he could hear from others how in love Minho seemed to be with him, just solidifying his already confirmed belief in the Warlock’s feelings. 

“That’s really nice to hear actually and yes, I do love him a lot,” Jisung confessed, stroking the back of his neck, not realising how good it actually felt to be able to say something like that out loud to someone without fear of repercussions. 

“Jisung, I would like to apologise to you.”

The change in atmosphere almost gave Jisung whiplash, the moment filled with warmth and embarrassed giggles contorting into something with a much more serious tone. 

“Apologise? Why do you need to apologise to me, Felix?” 

“I put Binnie in a terribly dangerous position and he could have been hurt because of that or worse. You could have lost him forever.” 

Jisung could tell where this was going, why Felix had gone from his crazily adorable self to the reserved young man he had been on the night that they had first met. Felix was clearly worried that Jisung might feel a little upset with him because of how Changbin had dove head first into the Fae realm to save him. 

“Hey,” Jisung called in a soothing voice, holding onto the Fae’s hand. “You don’t have to apologise to me or anyone for what Changbin did. It was his own dumbassery that nearly got him killed. Even then, he did it to save you, the love of his life and I’m so glad he was able to bring you back here to us, so that you don’t have to endure what you have been for so long. You’re one of us, you have been from the moment you stepped into the Institute. You’re safe here. Don’t feel like you have to walk on eggshells around us, Lixie.”

Kicking his foot off of the ground, Felix managed a small thank you as his eyes kept jumping from his clasped hands to Jisung’s smiling face, looking like he desperately wanted to say something more. 

“What?” 

“Lixie. I like that name.”   


With a soft giggle, Jisung gently pushed Felix’s hair out of his eyes, thinking the Faerie looked so much younger than he was right now. Doing the math in his head, taking into account the passage of time between the human realm and the Fae one, Jisung came to the conclusion that Felix was pretty much more or less the same age as him but right now, he felt like he had fallen into a sort of big brother role for the innocent Faerie, much like Changbin had for him. He wanted nothing more than to protect Felix from all the evils in the world and that’s exactly what he would do, especially within the walls of the Institute. If Yunseok came anywhere near him, Jisung would not hesitate to eradicate him. 

“You do, huh?” 

“Mmm,” Felix hummed, nuzzling into Jisung’s hand, the Faerie going straight back to his adorable, wide eyed demeanor. “Binnie was the first one to give me a nickname and it was so strange for me since nobody ever had before. Hearing it from others gives me that same sort of fuzzy feeling within my chest. I like that too.”   


The two spent another ten minutes or so going through the things that Felix liked in Jisung’s dresser, folding them into neat little piles arranged by item of clothing. Jisung didn’t even remember buying half of them, most of them never even seeing the outside of the drawers but the way Felix’s eyes lit up at the rose coloured hoodie or the black t-shirt that had a little, green frog on it made Jisung positive that he knew what he needed to do. 

“Ok, you like all these clothes?” 

“Yes, I really, really do.” 

“Well then, you take that bundle and I’ll take this one. Let’s go!” 

Felix didn’t move from his spot on the floor, watching Jisung awkwardly arrange the clothes in his arms, with a pair of jeans falling out before he bent low to pick them up, with a sheer white shirt taking their place on the floor. Once he managed to fix himself, he patiently awaited Felix to follow him but was met with the Faerie still sitting cross legged on the floor. 

“Aren’t you coming?” 

“Where are we going?” Felix inquired, moving fairly slowly to his feet as he grabbed the mountain of Jisung’s clothes that the other gestured to. 

“Your room? So we can put all of these in your closet?”

“Why are we putting your things in my closet?” 

“You said you liked them, didn’t you? You can take all of them if you’d like. A lot of these things have never been worn and most still have the tags on them. I have a problem of spending money on clothes and letting them sit in my closet forever. Therefore, you need clothes and instead of wasting money, you should just take these. All of them are clean, I promise, despite what my room may look like.” 

Felix’s eyes were quick to widen as he ran to Jisung, trying to take the clothes in his hands away from him, a slight state of frenzy taking over. 

“No, no, no. Everyone here is already doing too much for me and my mother. I do not want to take advantage of your kindness. Here, let me help you put everything back. I will just take your least favourite t-shirt and any pair of pants you wish to give me. I am not-”

“Woah, Lixie, breathe!” Jisung begged, depositing his clothes on the nearby ‘laundry chair’ as it had been dubbed and rubbed the Faerie’s back to calm him down. “You are not taking advantage of anyone. We want to do these things because you are our friend and we want to help you. We are friends, right?” 

The Faerie quickly nodded in agreement and Jisung already knew that Felix considered everyone close to him a friend. Since he had grown up without any, according to Changbin, his friends were considered something very important, something he could not lose. He obviously didn’t want them to think he was only using them for their dwelling and possessions, not that Jisung would ever be stupid enough to consider such a thing. Felix was far too bright to ever have that kind of mindset. 

“Right, we’re friends and friends help one another without asking for anything in return. Since I don’t use these, you can take them, ok?” Jisung consoled, seeing Felix break out into that stunning smile once again. “Alright, let’s bring all of this stuff to your room and then you can change and you can head back to Binnie and I can go back to-” 

Jisung would really have to get used to being teased about his boyfriend from now on but he didn’t really expect his first suggestive smile to come from Felix who snorted at the abrupt pause that Jisung had come to. Still, like Jisung had said, they were friends and this is exactly what he would expect from anyone else at the Institute. 

“Quiet, you.” 

Felix merely zipped his lips with his fingers running to take his pile of clothes up in his arms and rushing to follow Jisung who had already begun to leave the room. Changbin had wanted to keep Felix in a room relatively close to his own, so since Changbin’s was only two doors down from Jisung’s, they didn’t have very far to walk but in that amount of time, Felix’s dazzling smile had faltered and changed into a frown full of unsureness. 

“You look pretty lost in thought there. Are you doing ok?” 

“Yes, I am alright. I think I am just a little bit sad,” Felix whispered softly, carefully placing the mountain of clothes on his dresser while Jisung threw his on the bed. 

“How come, Lixie?” 

“Well, while there was nobody but my mother in the Fae realm that I cared for, the place in which I lived held a very special place in my heart.”

That was something that Changbin had voiced his worry over when he had been walking back to his room with Jisung after they had left Minho. Even though he had saved Felix from a horrible fate, he had ultimately dragged the young man away from the only home he had ever known. Like Felix had said, even though he didn’t have anyone he loved in the Fae realm, he used to constantly talk about how beautiful the realm itself was and to know he was forbidden from going back there probably hurt more than he cared to admit. 

“I feel sad when I think about the fact that I am never going to see the sun of the Fae realm rise and fall each day, that I will never again be able to look upon some of the magnificent flora that only grew in that place and the gentle animals that took refuge there, that I will never be able to fly over the gigantic mountains nor the glistening waterfalls ever again. And because of that, my heart feels a little empty.” 

Jisung couldn’t say what it felt like to lose your home but he had lost enough people to know about the empty feeling that Felix was speaking of. Laying a hand upon the Fae’s shoulder, Jisung urged him to continue to spill his feelings, knowing from experience how good it would feel to get it off of his chest. 

“But I am sure this will pass. Do not think me ungrateful though. I think that the gods wished for things to be this way and I also think I will be much happier here with all of you, with Areum and my mother. Brighter things are headed my way, I’m sure.” 

It was an amazing quality to have, to be able to see the brighter side of things all of the time, even in times of sadness but Felix seemed to have it down to a tee when he shook his head and stood tall once again. Maybe he could have been hiding his true feelings but Jisung wasn’t going to shy away from this; he needed to let Felix know that things would definitely turn out ok now that he was here with them. 

“You know, we’ll find plenty of ways to make you feel at home here. There are a lot of spectacularly stunning places that I’m sure could rival the beauty of the Fae realm,” Jisung tried, despite the fact that he had never been to the Fae realm himself and therefore could not really claim such a thing. “Out by Chan’s place, I know there are a few areas that are really beautiful. I could bring you there sometime if you’d like. We’d just need to get Chan’s permission first so that he knows we’re coming onto his territory.” 

For all the times he had gone to Chan’s home, Jisung had also spent some time within the woods surrounding it, knowing from experience that there was a small lake with a waterfall only a few minutes from the wolves home, surrounded by numerous apple trees and blackberry bushes, something Felix would probably appreciate seeing soon. 

“First things first, if you miss flying, you can always do it around the gardens of the Institute. You’ve been out towards the greenhouse before, right?”

Jisung already knew the answer since Changbin hadn’t shut up about Felix’s adorable reactions when they had sat under the ginormous orange tree and he had asked him out for the first time. He also knew that it was one place that Felix would really feel at home until they got out to the forest. 

“The glamour around the whole building will block you from any prying Mundane eyes, so if you wish to spread your wings for a little while, you can do that out back. I’m sure Bin would love to see it since he hasn’t ever seen you flying before. He always talks about how pretty your wings are. Not as much as he gushes about your freckles though.”

With a little groan, Felix raised his hands to hide his radiant cheeks, knowing that Changbin absolutely loved his freckles but never realised he would talk to anyone else about them.    


“As for the rest, we will figure things out as we go. If you ever feel a little sad again, just talk to Bin or come to me or anyone else. We will always have time to listen to your worries, Lixie, ok?” 

The embarrassment soon turned into something more sentimental, with Felix lowering his hands to play with the hem of the cardigan that he hadn’t taken off yet. 

  
“I am so happy that I met all of you,” Felix sniffled with tears in his eyes, beginning to apologise when they tumbled over and fell down his cheeks.

Felix had a kind soul, perhaps too kind for a world as harsh as theirs but Jisung would help Changbin protect the light that continually shone from the Faerie, no matter what it took. He gathered up the smaller young man in his arms, leaning further into the hug when Felix immediately returned the embrace. 

“We’re happy that you’re here too, Lixie. You’re family now and we’ll always be here for you. We will make you feel at home, even if it takes a little time, alright?” 

Feeling the tiny nod against his shoulder, Jisung was glad that he had managed to sneak in a bit of alone time with Felix, more than anything so he could let him know that Changbin wouldn’t be the only one that would be there for him. They would all make sure that he was loved and cared for, that he knew he had a home with him, that everything would turn out alright eventually. 

* * *

Hyunjin was a Vampire. A goddamn  _ powerful  _ Vampire. He was immortal, his strength was something that was envied by many, his abilities were unmatched by anyone else in Seoul. For those who didn’t know of his gentle disposition, they should fear him. Yet, he was the one who was terrified of the slight young man with a look full of determination in his eyes that was currently making his way towards him with a decent speed in his step. 

Steeling himself for the incoming storm, Hyunjin stood tall, waiting for the possible punch or tearing out of his throat that he would not blame Jeongin for, should the Werewolf so choose to carry through on something like that. Instead, all that Hyunjin got was Jeongin stopping straight in front of him, roughly five centimeters left between the tips of their shoes while the shorter young man kept his face completely void of emotion. Hyunjin wasn’t quite sure what to do since he was sure Jeongin was going to make the first move and told himself to just bear the uncomfortable atmosphere surrounding them until the younger was ready. 

“Can we talk? Somewhere private?” 

After Hyunjin got over the softness of the wolf’s voice, he instantly began to nod his head with vigour, letting himself become Jeongin’s shadow as he was led down the hallway by the other, the wolf obviously knowing where he wanted to go. Turning a corner to his left, Jeongin opened the first door he came across and walked inside, Hyunjin knowing that it was the miniature movie theatre that had been set up last year at Jisung’s request. It only consisted of four sofas but there was a massive blank wall in front of them, a state of the art projector fitted into the wall to display whatever movie one wished to watch. 

“So…” Jeongin began, snapping Hyunjin out of his momentary daydream as he thought about how he had spent one of his date nights with Seungmin here, when, by the halfway point of the movie, they turned down the volume and let it play in the background, more interested in getting to know more about each other as they talked about practically everything they could think of until the sun began to rise. 

“May I say something first?” 

Surprised by the request but not looking in any way annoyed by it, Jeongin gestured with his hand to show Hyunjin he had the go ahead. 

“First and foremost, I want to apologise to you,” Hyunjin admitted, needing to let Jeongin know everything on his mind before he tore him apart. “What happened last night was  _ never  _ supposed to happen. While I was not in control of my faculties in the moment, I should have taken better care of myself in the time leading up to it to make sure it was never a possibility. Minnie got caught in the crossfire and so did you.” 

Of course Seungmin was the one who had been hurt most last night, both physically and mentally but Jeongin had been too. In the time that they had been lying on his bed together back at the hotel, Hyunjin had asked Seungmin to go into some detail on what had happened since he could in no way remember the events of last night. When the Shadowhunter had told him all about the fight that he had gotten into with Jeongin, the way he had tried to snap at the pup’s neck, Hyunjin knew that Seungmin was not the only one he needed to beg for forgiveness. 

“I am  _ so  _ sorry for attacking you when you tried to protect Minnie. If I was in my right mind, I would never do something like that. Seungmin told me all about what I did and just know that I will do everything within my power to make sure that I never lose myself like that again. That, I promise you.” 

Jeongin remained silent, giving no other response than a little nod to show that he understood Hyunjin’s pledge but since it didn’t seem like the Vampire was finished with what he needed to say, he made no move to respond further. 

“Secondly, I need to thank you. For saving Minnie from me last night. If you weren’t there…I know exactly what would have happened and the image that it conjures absolutely terrifies me. Plain and simple, I would have killed him and it is only because of you that he’s still here, that  _ I’m  _ still here. So, thank you, Jeongin.” 

Again, the Werewolf remained silent as he bowed his head a little. Due to the lack of reaction, Hyunjin wasn’t quite sure where he stood in Jeongin’s graces but it was the conclusion to his little speech that was the most important thing he needed to say. 

“Finally, I am letting you know that you in no way have to accept my apology or my thanks after what I did to you. It was wrong, it was monstrous and it was probably terrifying for everyone to see me like that. So, I am sorry for all of my actions but I understand if that is not enough for you. That…was pretty much all I wanted to say to you, I think. You go.”

Hyunjin hurriedly spat out the last sentence, wanting to get it off of his tongue as quickly as possible. The tenseness in his shoulders was making him lock up since he was terribly unnerved he was at Jeongin’s overly composed demeanor. He had expected one or two insults to be thrown his way, if not something worse and if he was being honest, he would have preferred that to the stony silence he was now receiving. In his head, he figured that Jeongin was just trying to compose what it was he wanted to say but the overly sceptical part of his brain was coming up with all the worst possibilities he could ever imagine. 

When he heard the little sigh coming from Jeongin, he tried to venture a guess as to what the wolf’s next move would be but couldn’t quite seem to pin down what it was he was feeling as he leant against the back of one of the leather sofas. 

“I’m not happy with you,” Jeongin monotoned, making Hyunjin snort a little, thinking that was a very tame feeling to have towards him after last night. 

“That’s ok. I’m not happy with me either.” 

“But I understand why things happened that way.” 

Hyunjin…really hadn’t been expecting that. While he had said that Jeongin didn’t have to accept his apology or thanks, unsure as to how angry the younger actually was with him, he never expected in a million years for the pup to say that he  _ understood _ his actions. 

“Listen,” Jeongin sighed, coming towards Hyunjin once again, making the Vampire cement his feet into the ground since he had the primal urge to run away. “I said some terrible things about you last night when I brought Seungminnie back to the Institute after it all. I hope he didn’t tell you about any of that.”

He had because Hyunjin had asked him too. Seungmin had been incredibly reluctant to divulge what had happened after he had returned last night but when he mentioned he had gotten into a fight with Jeongin over something, Hyunjin had the sneaking suspicion that it had to do with him and after a little probing, he got the Shadowhunter to tell him why. It didn’t surprise or hurt him, what it was that Jeongin said because, at that time, he had thought all of those things about himself too but Seungmin had quickly followed up those points with the fact that Jeongin had apologised to him just before he had come to his hotel, regretting everything he had previously said about the Vampire. 

Seungmin had told him but the look of discomfort on the wolf’s face made Hyunjin create a little white lie, saying that Seungmin had said nothing of the sort. Thankfully, since he was a Vampire and didn’t give off any pheromones like every other species did to a Werewolf’s nose, only smelling like death according to wolves he had met before, whatever that smelled like, Jeongin couldn’t tell that he was being dishonest but it was for his own good in the end. 

“Ok, well, I said some things in the heat of the moment, none of which I think are true. I know how easy it is to lose yourself to your other half. I’ve been there. It can help us in times when we need it…like it did for me last night,” Jeongin mumbled, clearly referring to when he had turned to protect Seungmin, making Hyunjin’s lips turn upwards slightly at how mature Jeongin was trying to be about this whole thing. “But I know it can also fight against us, no matter how much control we think we have over it. Sometimes, we break and it isn’t our fault.”

It was on the tip of Hyunjin’s tongue, that he wanted to tell Jeongin that he should have been more careful in the days leading up to the attack. He had been so preoccupied that he never realised he hadn’t fed but the reason he was so lost in work was because they were all still trying to figure out what Facility 0325 was and he had been researching every little bit of info that he could. When he realised he couldn’t say any of that without giving their whole operation away, he stayed quiet. 

“Neither of us asked for this kind of life but we have to make the best out of what we are given. We do our best to control it but we also have to remember that we have people around us that are willing to help, like I know Seungminnie will always be there to help you and me.” 

Something that Seungmin had also expressed, that he would always be around to help those he loved and Hyunjin knew that both he and Jeongin fell under that category, that they would  _ always  _ fall under that category. 

“So, I don’t blame you for last night,” Jeongin whispered through gritted teeth and while Hyunjin was about to say that his actions were very much contradicting his words, he realised that it wasn’t Jeongin looking like he wanted to snap at him but his wolf, the young man doing his best to control his beast. “I don’t but I’m still not really one hundred percent over how Seungminnie got hurt back then. It was painful to see him like that and to my wolf, you were still the cause. We’ll get there eventually but just give me some time to get my wolf to be ok with this.” 

“I can do that,” Hyunjin smiled, feeling his aching heart heal itself further each time someone told him that he had nothing to fear in the way of his actions. 

“And I accept both your apology and thanks. No need to worry about all that stuff. Just…promise me that you will never hurt him, even a little bit. I can’t go through seeing him like that again.” 

Jeongin really was a good kid and Hyunjin felt foolish that he had ever held any sort of grudge against him for wanting to be close to Seungmin. He just wanted those he loved to be safe, something that Hyunjin himself could relate to a lot. 

“I promise, Innie,” the Vampire smiled, reeling back a little when he realised that the nickname he had never used before slipped out but before he could apologise for it, Jeongin huffed with a cunning smile, doing nothing to scold the Vampire for its use. 

Instead, the younger held out his hand, a sign of peace between the both of them when Hyunjin took it in his own, shaking it with a gentleness neither of them had used towards one another before. 

As the air found a calmness that descended upon them, Hyunjin’s phone began to buzz, the Vampire excusing himself from the conversation for a moment to answer the call, seeing Seungmin’s name flash up on the screen with a picture that Hyunjin had taken of the young Shadowhunter sleeping in his arms the first time he had spent the evening in his room. 

“Minnie?” Hyunjin answered with a frown, wondering why Seungmin was calling him when he was still in the Institute. 

“Where the hell are you?!” 

Both Jeongin and Hyunjin winced at the harsh screech that blared through the speaker, looking at each other with a slight worry in their eyes. 

“I’m in the mini theater in the back of the Institute with Innie. Why? Where are-”

“Stay there!” Seungmin yelled as the line went dead. 

To hear such terror in the younger’s voice scared Hyunjin to no end, wondering if something had happened and while he wanted to run to where Seungmin was, knowing that he would be much faster to get there, he was going to do as Seungmin asked and wait, which wasn’t for very long as Seungmin came barrelling through the door with a ferocious scowl on his face, glaring at Jeongin, making the pup retreat a couple of steps before striding up to Hyunjin and punching him straight in the chest, which didn’t hurt at all but the Vampire could definitely feel the anger through it. 

“Minnie? What was that for?” 

“You said you wouldn’t move!” Seungmin shouted, tears beginning to gather up in his eyes out of frustration and it was then that Hyunjin realised he had promised Seungmin he would not move from the spot where he had left him, probably leading the Shadowhunter to believe that Hyunjin was once again in the wind trying to escape from him. “I thought you were gone, Jin! I thought you had broken your promise! I thought you had left me again!” 

Both Jeongin and Hyunjin froze when Seungmin burst into tears at the thought of a Hyunjin-less existence, the Vampire being the first to come back to his senses and quickly wrap his arms around his distressed boyfriend. 

It had never truly occurred to him until now but he assumed that Seungmin had a lot of separation anxiety because of the type of life he had lived after the Christmas Eve incident. He had always been able to remember a family in the back of his mind but never understood why it was that they had left him all alone to grow up as an orphan. Even though he knew the truth now, the thoughts of someone he loved leaving him once again might have poked at a lot of old scars written into the walls of his heart that he probably wasn’t even aware were still there. 

“Oh, angel. Minnie, no, I am never going to leave you alone. I promised. Crossed my heart, didn’t I? Granted it may not be beating but the thought still counts.”

“This isn’t the time to be making fucking jokes, Hyunjin!” Seungmin cried, wrapping his arms around the taller’s waist and nuzzling into his neck to try and halt the tears. 

“You’re right, angel. I’m sorry. I should have told you where I was going. You’re alright. I’m not going anywhere, Minnie. I’ll always be by your side to keep you safe.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Hyunjin could see Jeongin smiling fondly at the couple embracing, bouncing on his feet and clearly wanting to join in on the snuggle fest with his pack mate and boyfriend. Removing one hand from Seungmin’s waist, making the Shadowhunter hold on tighter since he was not done with hugging the metaphorical life out of his boyfriend, Hyunjin motioned Jeongin over to them, the pup immediately bounced over to him, wrapping himself around Seungmin’s back and immediately began to scent the Shadowhunter, making Hyunjin smirk at how calm it made both of them. 

“Why were you guys even in here?” Seungmin asked through the sniffles. 

“We were just talking things out,” Hyunjin answered, keeping things kind of vague since it was a conversation he wanted to keep between the two of them. 

“And is everything ok?”

“Not completely but we’re going to get there. We’ll get there for sure,” Jeongin promised, hooking his chin over Seungmin’s shoulder and smiling up at the Vampire. 

“Yeah,” Hyunjin echoed. “We’ll definitely get there.” 

* * *

Running her hand across the beautifully embellished throw on the end of her bed, Callie brushed away the last of her tears. She never imagined that things would turn out this way, that she would have to leave the home she had spent her entire life in, where she thought she would live out the rest of her days. And maybe, despite what she had said, she found it more than a little difficult to deal with. 

While it was unfortunate that she could no longer live in the Fae realm, it was the fact that she had left so many of her treasures behind. Pictures of Felix when he had been born, taken with a camera that had been gifted to her by his father before she had returned to the Fae realm. Little gifts such as a golden locket that Felix had given her for the yule solstice that he had made by himself, something she had taken off as she was about to retire for the day but had gotten the feeling that her son was in trouble. A hand knitted shawl that had belonged to her mother, a woman long since passed after a sickness had taken her away. Things that she held dear that she would never be able to have again. 

However, she knew those belongings were a small price to pay to see her son safe and happy and she would trade them a million times over if it was for Felix’s sake. She would also give up everything for Changbin too, the young man who had risked life and limb to get Felix away from the clutches of the tyrannous Queen, a brave soul who she cared for just as much as her own son, easily seeing how much he loved her boy. She would thank the Shadowhunter a million times a day for what he did because nothing in the world, not the fae realm, not her possessions, not her own life, was as important to her as Felix was. 

At the sound of a knock upon her door, Callie stood tall and hoped to the gods that she didn’t look like a complete mess but she knew it could only be a handful of people, none of which would mock her for crying over something lost. 

“Come in,” the Faerie called, her smile brightening when Areum peeked her head in and asked if it was alright to enter. 

“How are you settling in? Finding everything ok?”

“It is…difficult,” Callie answered truthfully, knowing Areum would understand. 

“I get it. To have to leave your home, everything you’ve always known behind? That can’t be easy for anyone.” 

With her compassionate judgement, Areum pulled the Faerie into a smothering hug, swinging side to side until Callie was erupting with giggles, doing her best not to fall over as her friend nearly lost her footing in her madness. 

“Callie, can I ask you something?” 

“Of course,” the smaller woman answered, pulling back to see a very unusual look in the Shadowhunter’s eyes. 

“Do you trust me?” 

It seemed like a strange question to ask after everything that they had been through together, not just because of the night they had just battled through, when Areum had consoled her throughout the time that Changbin had been gone to try and save Felix but also when she had managed to save Felix herself in her youth. Callie would think herself a fool if she did not trust Areum now. 

“I do, Areum. Why would you ask that? After all you have done for me, it would be silly not to.” 

“Alright then,” the Shadowhunter whispered, opening the Faerie’s back window that led into the gardens. “I need to leave the Institute to go somewhere and I want to take you with me since I think you would be of use but you can’t tell anyone that you’re leaving. It has to be kept a secret.”

An awfully suspicious idea but Callie assumed she was not supposed to ask where they were going since this was why Areum had asked if she trusted her. Still, she never liked to keep too many secrets from her son, only if it was within his best interest but if she didn’t know of her destination, then she couldn’t make that sort of call. 

“Even from Felix?” 

“Even from Felix. From Changbin too. Nobody can know.” 

The fact that Areum looked so calm about all of this piqued Callie’s curiosity, wondering where it was that the Shadowhunter could want to take her, which wasn’t even known by her own son. This couldn’t have been official Shadowhunter business if that was the case or it wouldn’t have mattered where their destination was. Still, as Callie had promised, she trusted Areum, taking the other woman’s hand as they both snuck out the window like a couple of teenagers, reliving their long forgotten rebellious days. 

“Alright. Let us go then.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? That scene means nothing.  
As for next week...I shall see you then...


	48. Vindication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up kiddos...

Days passed and normality was beginning to set in once again. There had been no demon sightings in the last few days, everyone had stopped manically running around the place trying to put out metaphorical fires, peace seemed to be practically flowing through the halls. Everything was back to the way it was supposed to be. 

Except for the occupants of the medical suite in the Institute. 

It had been nearly a week since Chan had brought Woojin back to his home after being attacked in that disgustingly dark alleyway; a week since Chan had found out why he had been discarded by the one he loved the most. The beeping of the monitors had become so normal to him now that Chan was still able to hear it when he would go to the bathroom or speak with Wonsik to find out how the pack was doing. 

He had barely slept in the last seven days, afraid that he wouldn’t be awake to see Woojin finally opening his eyes and coming back to him or, the more negative side to it, that he wouldn’t hear the heart monitor flatline and take the Shadowhunter away from him, not that he lingered on that possibility for long. 

If it had been up to him, he probably wouldn’t have eaten anything either. Only for his friends, the Werewolf supposed he would have ended up nothing more than skin and bones right now but he was lucky he had people who cared for him so much, people like Jisung who had brought him some stir fried beef and rice on the first day and actually force fed him since Chan had outright refused to eat like a two year old, taking some meat onto a spoon and making airplane noises until the elder got annoyed enough to eat what was being offered to him, nearly snapping the spoon in half. After that, Chan ate what was brought to him without any trouble. 

Throughout the week, everyone came into the room tried to speak with him, even Felix and Seungmin, friends that he hadn’t gotten to know well enough yet because of his distant nature but even as they attempted to start up a conversation, each and every time, all that they got in return were grunts of confirmation and one word sentences. Eventually, they gave up, knowing that Chan wasn’t really in the right mindset to talk like absolutely nothing had happened. Nobody said anything regarding Yunseok’s actions seven months ago but Chan got the distinct feeling that all of his friends knew by now based on how they looked at him with such a discernible pity. 

One person that he could absolutely not turn away from was Jeongin, the young wolf coming in at least once a day to try and help his leader out in any way that he could. It ranged from cleaning up his dishes from his last meal to reminding him that he needed to shower and go to the bathroom. Sometimes all he could do was sit beside his friend, the elder growling if Jeongin so much as tried to touch him but more often than not, Jeongin found himself sitting on Chan’s knee as the alpha held on tight enough to bruise, scenting him and getting the same sort of treatment in return to try and calm his worried soul. 

But as it reached two in the morning, Chan found himself alone again since he told Changbin to go and get some rest and kiss Felix good night over an hour ago, something that made him unknowingly smile when Changbin blushed a deep red at the suggestion, like he hadn’t been constantly boasting about how wonderful and beautiful his boyfriend was for the last seven days. 

It was times like this, when the insomnia hit hard, that Chan had plenty of time to think, with no way to escape the thoughts that bombarded him in the silence. It would be the same thing every single night, a simple flow of thoughts. It would begin with annoyance about how he had been left out of the loop, how his pack had been in danger the whole time and he had no idea; he had not been the one to protect them. It would then move to Chan laughing at himself for being so stupid that he couldn’t have seen what was being hidden from him, which would eventually morph into self hatred. In the end, Chan came to the conclusion that, while he had not completely forgiven Woojin for his deception, he felt that there was no longer any spite or distaste towards the Shadowhunter in his heart, just a longing to see Woojin’s beautiful brown eyes open again and sparkling like they always had back then. 

It was two days ago that Areum had said she saw a noticeable difference in Woojin’s wounds, meaning that he had gathered up enough energy within his body for his blood to begin healing him at a much quicker rate. Yet, he hadn’t woken up, hadn’t even moved a finger or twitched his nose to signify that he might even be considering it.

Sometime during the night, Chan would begin talking to Woojin about whatever he could think of and that would be the first of many ways that he would try to rouse the Shadowhunter from his sleep. He tried an abundance of things. Speaking softly and raising his voice to yell but not so much that it would cause anyone outside to come running in thinking that something had happened. Chan would play random videos on his phone of cute animals, Woojin’s favourite tv shows or musicians playing a guitar and place it beside Woojin’s head on his pillow but that never worked either. It wasn’t necessarily a tactic to get Woojin to wake up but Chan found himself fixing the Shadowhunter’s blankets ever so often or brushing back his unkempt hair in an attempt to keep it out of his eyes. He silently hoped that his touch would be enough to bring Woojin back but that too ultimately failed. 

The only time Chan noticed something unusual was when he was absentmindedly humming to himself as he answered the messages that had been sent to him by the pack, fifty nine of them, the younger pups joining in on some of them since Chan had always refused to let them have a cell phone until they could show they could handle the responsibility. The humming slowly evolved into singing some song that Chan used to love as a kid and had never forgotten the lyrics to. 

It was then that he heard the sounds of Woojin’s heart monitor increasing slightly, something that made Chan shut up and stand to attention, rushing over to the elder’s bedside but as soon as he got there, the beeping had returned to normal, flummoxing Chan in the moment but later on that day, when he had begun to sing to himself again, he noticed the exact same thing happening, Woojin’s heart rate increasing at the sound of his melodies. It was the only thing that showed that Woojin was responsive at all and if anything, Chan liked to know that Woojin could hear him, even if it was only subconsciously. So, the wolf continued to do this, singing to the unconscious young man while moving his chair closer and closer to Woojin’s bed with each song until he was holding onto the Shadowhunter’s hand as he sang a sweet song that held too many of Chan’s emotions right now. 

_ ‘There goes my heart beating, _

_ Cause you are the reason, _

_ I’m losing my sleep, _

_ Please come back now. _

_ There goes my mind racing, _

_ And you are the reason, _

_ That I’m still breathing, _

_ I’m hopeless now.’ _

Chan thought about when he had first met Woojin. It was when the Clave had made the meetings in the Institute mandatory for Downworlders, to try and allow them to have a place to voice their concerns to the head of the Institute and find out if there was anything worth of importance going on that they should know about. Since he had the biggest pack in Seoul, he had been contacted by the Institute to be a representative and report back to the other packs in Seoul, something he wasn’t all that thrilled about but he knew that nobody else would be either, so he took it on, never expecting to find someone like Woojin or the rest of his friends there. 

It irritated him to no end when he was told the head of the Institute wouldn’t even be overseeing the meetings, that his son was going to do so, thinking that if he wasn’t going to speak with the most important person here, then why should he bother? Sitting in the meeting room of the Institute, Chan had been so ticked off, stewing in silence with the other leaders. He knew Minho since he had dealings with him every now and again but he had never been acquainted with the Vampire leader and the proxy sent by the Seelie Queen. He was ready to up and leave but then three young men had walked into the room and things immediately changed. 

The scent that hit Chan’s nose was intoxicating and while he wasn’t able to distinguish who it was coming from at first, when he locked eyes with the raven haired young man who was obviously overseeing the meeting, he knew that he was someone he needed to get to know straight away. 

  
From there, he had learned who Woojin was, that his father was the head of the Institute and that he was far too sweet for this world. Every week, Chan would come to the meeting, each time becoming a little bit braver when talking to Woojin. He got to know Jisung, Changbin and Hyunjin along the way too and with Minho, they all became quite a close little group of friends. 

About three months into their gatherings, Changbin had pulled him aside and tore Chan a new one, telling him to wolf-up, Chan assuming this was a feeble attempt at humour and ask Woojin on a date already because all of them were becoming exceedingly exasperated in watching them run circles around each other without getting to the root of the problem. And even if it did take him a couple more weeks, Chan did manage to blurt out that he would like to take Woojin out on a date sometime, to which the Shadowhunter had replied ‘finally.’ 

_ ‘I’d climb every mountain, _

_ And swim every ocean, _

_ Just to be with you, _

_ And fix what I’ve broken, _

_ Cause I need you to see, _

_ That you are the reason.’ _

The next memory that popped into Chan’s mind was their first anniversary, when Chan had been told by Woojin that he had something planned for their special day, that the wolf should take everything out of his schedule so that they could spend the entire evening together. And that’s exactly what Chan had done and when he was just about to message Woojin to say that he was on his way, two of his pups came rushing through the front door, crying and wailing that Yuna had fallen off a cliff while they had been playing in the forest and that they were sure she was dead. A gross over dramatic exaggeration since the fall from the so called ‘cliff’ was about six feet and Yuna had just twisted her ankle while the others had run to find Chan before she could even call out to them to tell them she was alright. Still, Chan hadn’t known that at the beginning and had transformed immediately, ripping the smart outfit he had put on for his date with Woojin and run off to find Yuna and bring her back before tending to her non life threatening wounds. 

It had been over an hour and a half later by the time Chan had arrived at the Institute, out of breath and visibly sweating since he hadn’t had the time to text Woojin about what had happened. He was met with a slightly ticked off looking Jisung who told him to go out to the greenhouse out back. 

It was there he found Woojin in the middle of the beautiful flora, golden lights surrounding him in the air, a spell no doubt set up by Minho. The candle in the middle of the table had long been extinguished as Woojin sadly pushed the cold food around on his plate since he had clearly been waiting for Chan to come so that they could enjoy the delightful meal he had prepared together. 

Chan felt more terrible than he could ever imagine, getting down on his knees and begging Woojin for forgiveness, trying to explain through the jumbled words what it was that had caused him to be so late and why it was that he hadn’t contacted Woojin to let him know he wouldn’t get there on time. 

All that Chan got in return was a small chuckle before Woojin pulled him up off of the cold stone floor, pressing their lips together as he shushed him through his ramblings. 

“It’s ok, Channie. Your pack comes first, especially the little ones. We can try this again another night but we can still do something else if you’d like. Maybe cuddle and watch a movie? That would be ok, right? By the way, how is Yuna? You really should have stayed with her. I would have understood.” 

Chan wanted to scream at Woojin’s selflessness in a situation like this and even though he was right, that Chan’s pack did come first, the wolf had to explicitly explain that Woojin was already a part of his pack. That, as his mate, even if they weren’t bonded yet, it was already a given, something which made the Shadowhunter’s face light up instantly as he said that was the best anniversary present he could have ever asked for. 

_ ‘There goes my hands shaking, _

_ And you are the reason, _

_ My heart keeps bleeding, _

_ I need you now. _

_ If I could turn back the clock, _

_ I’d make sure that light defeated the dark, _

_ I’d spend every hour, of every day, _

_ Keeping you safe.’ _

Chan’s train of thought kept moving until he landed on a night a week before Woojin had ended things. They could be found in the alpha’s bedroom, snuggled together under the covers while some cheesy romance movie played on Chan’s phone. Woojin had long fallen asleep tucked under the wolf’s chin, Chan’s protective arm around him as the elder’s breath tickled his neck. 

Once the credits of the movie began to play, Chan placed the phone on his bedside locker and pulled the sheets up around Woojin until the Shadowhunter let out a satisfied sigh. Just seeing Woojin sleeping like that, so content wrapped up in Chan’s arms made the wolf contemplate where their relationship was going, when he would be ready to take the next step and Chan was so sure that he wanted to bestow the mating bite onto the sleeping young man beside him. While that was a wolf’s way to cement a lifelong relationship, for humans, there was another way in which they tied themselves together and Chan was sure that he wanted Woojin in every way possible. That’s why he had decided that, in four month’s time, on their third anniversary, he would propose to him and promise to give him everything that life had to offer. 

But things never turned out that way and Chan had been thankful that he had never told anyone about what he had decided on that night. 

_ ‘I’d climb every mountain, _

_ And swim every ocean, _

_ Just to be with you, _

_ And fix what I’ve broken, _

_ Cause I need you to see, _

_ That you are the reason.’ _

And as Chan remembered all of those things, he couldn’t explain why his wolf had been so quick to give up on them, even if it had been utterly humiliated. He loved Woojin, he had always been the one and for a single interaction to change all of that was wrong on so many levels. Over two years of hard work, of love and support, all gone down the drain in one night. It just wasn’t right and Chan could see that now. They held too many beautiful memories together to be thrown away so hastily like that. 

Playing with Woojin’s fingers, as he ended his song, eyes glued to where their skin touched, Chan let out a lengthy sigh, silently begging Woojin for the hundredth time to just wake up already. Then, a small twitch of Woojin’s thumb caused Chan’s wolf to go on high alert, staying perfectly still in case he was the one that had made the Shadowhunter move by mistake but the second time it moved, Chan jumped up to look at Woojin’s face, only to see the elder’s eyes barely open as he blearily tried to make out his surroundings. 

Chan’s heart dropped down to his stomach at the sight, what he had been waiting a week to see. Taking his hand away from Woojin’s and bringing it up to wave slightly in front of the other’s eyes, Chan smiled dopily when he saw Woojin follow his wiggling fingers with a sense of familiarity. 

“Wooj? Sweetheart? Can you hear me?” 

A tense nod that caused Woojin to scrunch his eyes shut because of the pain emanating from every inch of his body let Chan know that he understood that he was indeed awake and this was not some sleep deprived delirium that the wolf had walked into. 

“Is this a dream?” Woojin wheezed out, taking a ragged breath in the middle of the sentence, causing his oxygen mask to fog up. 

“A dream?” Chan questioned, sitting down on the edge of the bed to get closer to Woojin. “Why would you think that this is a dream, Wooj?”

“Because my Channie doesn’t call me sweetheart anymore.” 

Watching the tears silently fall from the Shadowhunter’s eyes as a wobbly lopsided smile accompanied his pained whisper, Chan nearly broke down along with him, hating how utterly vulnerable Woojin was in his presence right now, something he wasn’t even sure he experienced when they were going out. 

“And whose fault is that, Wooj?” Chan chided but couldn’t find the hostility to go along with his scolding. “For fuck’s sake, Woojin. You are such an idiot, do you know that? Do you realise that you almost died? You barely managed to survive what happened to you. The only reason you’re here right now is because of Sungie and Bin. That’s not even mentioning all of the other stuff you’ve been keeping to yourself that has probably been driving you to your breaking point.”

When it seemingly occurred to Woojin that this was not, in fact, some hallucination as he first believed, his tears came to an abrupt halt, with Chan coming to the conclusion that they had indeed been tears of sadness when Woojin had thought that he had just imagined that Chan would be there calling him his sweetheart again. 

“Why are you here, Chan?”

Hearing Woojin’s voice so strained, like he had been swallowing sandpaper, caused Chan to wince, even more so when the elder had reverted to the cold and uncaring young man that Chan had walked away from with a broken heart all those months ago. 

“What do you mean ‘why am I here?’ Do you not remember what happened to you?” 

As Woojin lowered his eyes, darting slowly back and forth to try and recollect how he had come to be in a hospital bed within the Institute, it told Chan that, at the moment, he couldn’t recall how he had been injured. 

“No, I don’t,” Woojin rasped, coughing lightly when the air got caught in his throat. “But it doesn’t matter, does it? You shouldn’t be here. You need to go. Now.”

Chan knew what Woojin was doing. It was what he had been trying to do for the last seven months. Protect him. Keep him out of the Institute so that his father wouldn’t get the wrong idea about them getting back together. Make sure that his pack wouldn’t be hurt because of his selfish desires of wanting to keep Chan close. Push the alpha away to keep him out of harm's way. 

“I’ve been here for the last week watching over you, Wooj. I’m not going to leave now. You’re not really in any position to make me either,” Chan huffed, knowing there was little that Woojin could do in the way of forcing him out of the room. 

“Why do you care so much?” 

Why did he care so much? Why wouldn’t he care after finding out what had really gone down? Not that Woojin knew about that yet. It should have never gotten to this point. Woojin should have never had the opportunity to ask Chan why he cared so much about him. The Shadowhunter should have always known. The wedge driven between them by Yunseok, the months upon months wasted when they could have been loving one another in a deeper way, everything that had happened just fucked their relationship over and while they both had to take some responsibility, Chan knew that the villain in their story was going to be the one that paid for ever making Woojin question why Chan was by his side.

“Because I know why you ended things, Wooj,” Chan admitted with a pained sigh. “Changbin already told me.” 

With Chan’s exceptionally keen hearing, he could already detect Woojin’s heartbeat begin to speed up at his confession before the monitor had even registered it. While he had already been rather pale, whatever colour that had been left in Woojin’s face completely drained from it, his eyes no longer wincing because of the light but blowing wide when Chan declared so plainly that he was aware of the fact that Woojin had broken up with him because of what his father had threatened.

“What? What did he tell you? Whatever it was, it was a lie,” Woojin lied unconvincingly, knowing that Chan could already pick up on all the signs when someone was being dishonest.

Even if there was a little bit of doubt about what Changbin had told him, not that there was, it was completely wiped out when Woojin rushed out that whatever Changbin had told the wolf, it wasn’t true, even when he didn’t know what it was. Yunseok had done this to him, had threatened him, had made him his puppet, had beaten him and ridiculed him according to Changbin and the worst thing was that, even when the Shadowhunter’s heartbeat indicated fear of Chan knowing about what had happened, none of his anxiety had to do with his own wellbeing but that of his friends and former mate. 

Chan sighed heavily, raising his eyebrows to show Woojin that he wasn’t buying his deception this time around, that he had already accepted what it was that Changbin had told him about that night, when Yunseok had given his son an ultimatum and to save those he loved, Woojin had given up his happiness. 

“No, no, you can’t know about it. He’ll hurt you. He’ll go after your pack. What about Sungie and Bin? No, Chan, you can’t know about this. Pretend like you never heard about it. Bin never talked to you about it. Please, just go and leave me here. You can still stay away from me and keep them safe. Please just-” 

Sensing that Woojin was a step away from falling into a panic attack, Chan stood up from where he was seated on the bed, eyes shooting to the heart monitor that was steadily increasing with every second as the Shadowhunter got more and more riled up at the thoughts of everything that he had spent the last seven months preventing coming true. 

“Hey, Woojin, listen to me. I need you to take a deep breath for me,” Chan begged, holding the elder’s face between his hands to direct his gaze towards him.

But Woojin was too far gone, his breath catching in his throat, making Chan worry that he wouldn’t be able to breathe soon enough, not to mention what it would do for his body that still wasn’t nearly healed just yet. The Shadowhunter kept babbling about their safety as the tears that had been falling earlier returned, hands trembling as he reached out to grab onto something that could ground him. Chan thought about calling Areum or someone else to come help but at the rate Woojin was deteriorating after finding out his secret had been discovered, Chan decided that there wouldn’t be enough time; his body would go into shock before anyone got here. 

“Wooj!” the wolf snapped, realising that his words would not be enough to get through to the distressed Shadowhunter. “Fuck it.” 

Without any sort of tenderness, Chan ripped the oxygen mask off of Woojin’s face, the Shadowhunter not even registering it as he continued to lose his breath. The wolf hopped back up onto the bed and leaned in, wrapping his arms around Woojin’s neck and guided the Shadowhunter’s face to the crook of his neck where his main scent gland was. 

It was a risk that he took because, while he was able to release calming pheromones to help pacify other wolves since they would be able to easily pick them up, there were very conflicting opinions on whether they could be used on humans. Many believed that it was all groundless drivel but some considered the idea that if the human was close enough to a wolf in their relationship, a chosen pack member or mate, then maybe, just maybe, they would have the desired effect. 

Chan didn’t know if it was simply the closeness of their bodies, feeling Woojin’s cold nose brush off of his neck and making him shudder or if it was indeed his pheromones working but as soon as Woojin began to inhale Chan’s scent, his heart rate began to decrease significantly, his mindless gibberish being replaced by his harsh breaths, which eventually subsided into long, drawn out pants. Seeing as he was tied up with so many tubes and IV lines, Woojin couldn’t return Chan’s embrace fully but managed to bring one hand up to the side of the wolf’s shirt, grabbing on with what little strength he had as small sobs broke free. 

“Shh, it’s ok, Wooj. Calm down. Everything is ok. Just keep breathing with me. It’s alright, sweetheart.” 

Seeing as how it had done wonders while Woojin was unconscious, Chan began to hum a soothing melody while playing with the short hairs on the back of the elder’s neck as he held him close. At the moment, it didn’t matter what had happened between them. Woojin needed him right now and Chan was going to be there for him. There was no way he could walk away from Woojin now, not when he had broken so easily in front of him when he realised he had no longer any secret left to keep. 

Three mellow songs later, Woojin had once again returned to normal, as much as he could be in the state he was in. Chan hesitantly pulled back, not meeting Woojin’s eyes as he reached over and picked up the oxygen mask that had been discarded earlier in his haste, gently securing the strap around the back of the Shadowhunter’s head and fastening it over his nose and mouth once again to make it easier for him to regulate his breathing. As he finished, he caught Woojin staring at him, red rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks being the only indication that he had just completely fallen apart in front of him. 

Chan wasn’t quite sure where to go from here. This was the closest he had been to Woojin in such a long time and he had just shown the elder a side to him that he hadn’t set free since their split. It was just further verification that Chan’s feelings for Woojin had never completely been erased and for that, Chan was actually a little thankful. 

“Are you…mad at me?” Woojin slurred, clearly worn out from his momentary panic attack. 

“What do you think, Wooj? I’m fucking furious. All this time, I’ve been lied to, left out of the loop, made to think that I was discarded by the one person I actually-”

_ Loved. _

“I can’t believe you did all of this,” Chan scowled, wrinkling his nose at the wave of fear that arose from Woojin as the Shadowhunter lowered his eyes in shame. “But I’m not mad _ at _you.” 

There was a small skip in Woojin’s heartbeat, something that held a trill of hope in it as he raised his gaze to meet Chan’s, wondering what road this conversation was about to go down. 

“Finding out about all of this shit, it’s been so incredibly stressful. When Bin told me first, I didn’t want to believe it because it would have actually been easier to go on trying to hate you and move on with my life without you in it.” 

While it had been difficult over the last few months, Chan had been sure that if he continued on the way he had been going, he would have eventually gotten over Woojin. He was still in a mourning sort of phase but Chan would often think of the phrase _ ‘time heals all wounds.’ _ He wasn’t entirely sure he believed that. He much preferred the longer saying that stated: _ ‘ _ _ In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers wounds with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But they are never gone.’ _He may have to live the rest of his life with the small, nagging annoyance that there was always someone he had loved and lost but the pain would lessen and he would be able to move on. 

Chan had told Jeongin that the whole point of bringing him to the meetings was so that he could find a sense of responsibility and take over from his alpha doing something that mattered but Chan had very selfish reasons to go along with that. It was so that he wouldn’t have to see Woojin anymore since having to sit in front of him every week and try to contain his pain was setting him back a couple of steps in his heart’s recovery each time he was there. Of course, he didn’t think Jeongin was entirely ready just yet and had continued to accompany him but now, he knew that he would have to reconsider a few things about his whole outlook on seeing Woojin again. 

“But I realised while I’ve been sitting here for the last week that I never hated you. I was…bitter and hurt. What you said to me back then, it was the worst thing I could have even possibly heard, for you to say that you didn’t love me anymore. Knowing that you used that against me, it wasn’t easy to accept. My trust in you was shaken.”

And Woojin obviously knew that. It used to be a constant, daily basis kind of thing, to tell one another how much they loved each other. It would cause Chan’s wolf to purr and a beautiful smile to blossom on Woojin’s face, despite it becoming such a humdrum thing to say. To hear Woojin say that whatever feelings he had for him had burned away was literally soul destroying for Chan but now that he knew why it had been said, he realised why it was that Woojin had chosen such a path for them. 

“That wasn’t an easy decision for you though, was it?” Chan coaxed, knowing he probably wouldn’t get an answer from Woojin right now when the elder had once again averted his gaze. “You thought you were doing the right thing, to protect all of us. You wanted to hurt me enough to try and keep me away, so I wouldn’t fight for you because that’s what Yunseok wanted, right?” 

Chan knew that, with his words, he was causing Woojin to relive that night, the one where his father had endangered everything precious to him and it was making him feel like a terrible person, especially when Woojin scrunched his eyes shut, causing his tear filled lashes to brush against and dampen his cheeks. 

But it had to be done. Everything needed to be exposed right now. They were not going to put this conversation off until another time. It was now or never. 

“Jesus, Wooj. Why are you like this? You realise that even though you’re the leader of the Institute that you don’t have to shoulder every single burden in the world by yourself? You have people who care about you and want to help, to take some weight off of your shoulders.”

The only problem with that was that Chan knew he was guilty of the exact same thing. While he asked his friends or pack to help with small things he may have needed help with, when it came to the things that really mattered, like when it came to his split with Woojin, he would never talk about it with anyone, even when they would try and pry it out of him. 

Therefore, for fear of being a hypocrite, he reined in the guilt trip a little bit and directed the subject towards a different trail.

“Do you know that they’ve been taking shifts outside of your room to make sure that nobody but Areum comes in to check on your wounds?”

“Really?” Woojin faltered, looking to the door as if he could see what was on the other side. 

“Really. I heard that Sungie even stood up to Yunseok at one stage when he tried to come in and see you.” 

The slight spark that had lit up Woojin’s eyes at the thought of his friends doing their utmost to protect him immediately dimmed until darkness consumed them. The mere idea of his father coming in here to see him had dashed the optimism that Chan had slowly been trying to build up by changing the subject. 

That was all that Chan needed to make sure that he would do everything in his power to make sure that the hold Yunseok had over his son was broken as soon as possible. The way that the elder’s hands began to shake, the way his lip became trapped between his teeth, making it harder for him to breathe, told Chan that Woojin was afraid of his father and maybe not just because of what he had threatened but also because of what he had been forcing his son to endure over the past couple of months. 

“You’re ok,” Chan soothed, running his thumb across Woojin’s trembling knuckles. “Why did you endure it, Wooj? Bin told me about the abuse. He told me that the taunts are getting worse and that…he started hitting you too?”

Woojin started to squirm under Chan’s intense stare, lowering his face as if trying to hide some evidence that Yunseok had indeed been unleashing his rage upon him. Chan didn’t know how long this had been going on after they split, whether it was from the very beginning or if Yunseok had just gotten braver in recent times and knew that Woojin wouldn’t fight back. Either way, it enraged Chan’s wolf, the beast snarling and snapping like it wanted to get its hands on Yunseok as fast as it possibly could. 

“I’m not trying to make you feel bad, Wooj. I’m just trying to understand why you didn’t trust anyone enough to tell them so that they could help. All of that, it couldn’t have been an easy burden to carry by yourself.”

“I was scared. I still am,” Woojin sniffled, trying to bring his hand up to wipe away the tears but Chan beat him to it, carefully guiding his thumb across the other’s cheek. “I’m sorry, Chan. I thought I could protect everyone by giving into what he wanted. I thought I could endure it but I was too weak. I gave him control and every time I did something that displeased him, he would threaten all of you again. It was a vicious cycle. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough.”

Chan hushed him kindly, about to say that was complete and utter bullshit because Woojin was the strongest person that he has ever known. There were too many instances to count that the Shadowhunter had proved his worth when it came to his strength, not only physical but in every aspect he could think of. 

“I wanted to tell you, so badly but the thoughts of something happening to you or your pack…the pups getting hurt because of my father…Sungie and Bin being taken away from me…I couldn’t…I’m sorry, Channie. I’m really sorry that I put you through all of this. All those things I said, I never meant any of them. I never stopped lov-”

Seeing as how everything was out in the open now, Woojin figured he could get all of his worries off of his chest but in his haste to apologise, he went one step too far, almost declaring that his feelings for the wolf had always stayed in his heart, never disappearing, perhaps only getting stronger over the time they had been separated. But he didn’t want to make Chan feel guilty when he was sure that the wolf had probably already given up on what they once had. Things could not go back to the way they once were; Woojin knew he had ruined that chance. 

“I understand that none of this means anything after hurting you so badly but I still need you to know,” Woojin whispered as he closed his eyes and relaxed back into the firm pillows behind him. “I can’t believe I actually got to tell you. I’ve been holding it in for so long. It feels good. I was afraid I would be long gone by the time you found out.” 

That Woojin had thought about such a thing hit Chan hard. While most people might have understood that Woojin was saying he would have carried this secret until his old age, Chan took it to mean something entirely different. The underlying unspoken implication had the wolf inside him whimpering, that Woojin had already considered his demise but not after living out his life like he was meant to but by dying by another’s hand or something even more sinister, by his own. 

“But you still have to leave.”

The order caught Chan off guard, his perplexed frown being enough for Woojin to understand he had to go on with his reasoning. 

“Chan, just because you know doesn’t mean that what my father has threatened has suddenly become null and void. Your pack is still in danger. _ You’re _still in danger.”

“So?”

“Excuse me?” Woojin spluttered, once again choking in his surprise so that Chan had to sit him up slightly, allowing him to catch his breath, even if the move caused him to wince at the pain. 

“Let Yunseok come at me with everything he has,” Chan growled. “From now on, I’m going to be ten steps ahead of that fucker. He can try and attack my pack but I won’t let him anywhere near them. You know I have safeguards in my house for something like an attack anyways. There are tunnels out of the house, ones that lead to safehouses I have set up. I’ll have patrols on twenty four seven and I will tell everyone why. I will not live in fear because some maniac thinks he can get away with coming after me and hurting the ones I love.” 

That was not something that Chan was saying in the heat of the moment because it was something that he had thought about all week, what sort of action he would take when it came to protecting his pack and friends. He could pretend like he never heard about this but that would do no good for his own heart. Not Woojin’s either. So, he was going to stand his ground and take whatever precautions necessary to keep everyone safe for the time being, until he could deal with Yunseok himself. 

And he would. Just not yet. 

“The ones you love…” Woojin muttered absentmindedly, mask fogging up when he realised it hadn’t been silently like he had meant it to be. “Sorry. You’re being too foolish, Chan.”

“I think, for the first time in a long time, I’m actually thinking clearly. This is my decision, Woojin and I’m sticking with it. I’m done being passive. That has never been who I am but I’m annoyed that that’s who I have been for the last seven months. Someone who didn’t fight for what they wanted. Never again.” 

With his proclamation, Chan took Woojin’s still shaking fingers in his own, playing with the golden ring on his thumb. 

“And I’m not going to pretend that everything is fixed between us because it’s not,” Chan groaned, knowing that Woojin already knew it from his earlier reactions. “Too many hurtful things were said, too many wrongful deeds done for it all to be cleared up after one conversation.” 

Woojin gave a small nod, tightening his grip as if he were afraid that Chan was just going to up and walk away out of the room, out of his life once again. 

“But maybe we could keep trying.” 

The increase in Woojin’s heartbeat this time did nothing to worry Chan since he knew the meaning behind it was not fear but expectation. 

Chan remembered asking Areum at the beginning of the week if she thought everyone deserved a second chance and while her answer had been no, the list of things to think about before allowing someone back into your good graces was something that Chan had contemplated over and over again in the time he had been here, sitting in the room with Woojin’s unconscious body. And at the end of the day, looking over the reasons for the Shadowhunter acting the way that he had, Chan had decided that, with time and understanding, he could allow Woojin another chance and maybe, himself too. 

“I’m not saying that things will definitely go back to the way we once were. But…maybe they could,” Chan chuckled, smiling even brighter when a choked laugh sprung from the Shadowhunter’s throat. “Maybe…maybe we could start out by trying to be friends again. What do you think about that?”

“I think I’d like that a lot,” Woojin expressed with a sigh. “I missed you, Channie.” 

“I missed you too, Wooj. The real you,” Chan declared, not a false word in his affirmation because he had missed Woojin, terribly. More than he would have ever cared to admit. 

As the stress seeped out of every single pore in his body, Chan could see the light return to Woojin’s eyes once again, a true sign that the months upon months of hardship and anxiety that he had endured was releasing itself, letting him return to the kind, soft hearted soul he had always been before this whole mess started. 

“I’m tired, Channie,” Woojin yawned, drooping eyelids doing their best to keep their focus on the alpha in front of him. 

“Then rest, Wooj. We can talk more when you’re feeling better.”

“Don’t wanna sleep though,” the elder groggily disagreed through yet another yawn. “Still afraid…this is a dream.” 

“You don’t have to be afraid, not anymore. I’ll be here when you wake up, Wooj. I promise. I’ll be here from now on.” 

And he would. Chan would be there for Woojin from now on, for the one who had sacrificed everything that had made him happy to protect him, to protect his pack, to protect his friends. 

He deserved that much. 

He deserved the world.

Chan would return the favour, never letting Yunseok sink his claws into Woojin again. There would be consequences for all of this but not for Chan or those he held close. Yunseok would pay for this. For everything he had done to Woojin and to Chan too. 

Only time would tell if his theory checked out in certain aspects but for now, he would continue to hold the hand of his former mate, his now friend and in the future, who knew what kind of title Woojin would hold for him. At this moment, it did not matter. All that mattered was Woojin, the young man whose selfless actions had saved his friends, a family of wolves and an alpha who knew with every passing minute that his love had most definitely not gone away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...what did you think? Woochan are slowly starting to heal. Not everything is fixed yet, trust on both sides needs to be mended but they're getting there. They're willing to try.  
If anyone is interested in the song in the chapter, it's 'You are the reason' by Calum Scott. It's a really beautiful song and a song I thought fit pretty well for Woochan here.  
This is one of my favourite chapters and so is next week.  
Speaking of which, I purposely didn't give you guys any teaser last week. Wanted to keep you on your toes! But next week, we have even more Woochan, of course and some more apologies. After that, there is one part I know you guys will love and another...that will flip some opinions I think. See you then!


	49. Fourberie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Got a lot of you thinking with my hints last week. You'll get to see if your theories checked out.   
Also, yes there was a week between the last two chapters and a few of you were questioning what happened to Callie after Areum brought her somewhere since she must be back or the others would have noticed. You'll get some insight next week. Promise!   
Let's go.

_ “Oh, dear. What is a Shadowhunter like you doing in a place like this? All. By. Yourself.” _

_ A wicked sense of overwhelming fear. No way out of this. A sure sign that death was calling him.  _

_ “I believe that you have become acquainted with much greater knowledge, Woojin. Things that you shouldn’t know at all.” _

_ No way out. A mistake. He should never have meddled in this. He was going to meet his end in a filthy, shadowed alleyway with nobody beside him.  _

_ He didn’t want to die alone.  _

_ “Regrettably, I cannot stay and see the final performance that you will give. I must be off but my lovely pets here will be sure to take care of you for me. Goodbye, Kim Woojin. I don’t think your precious angels will save you from the demons this time.”  _

_ You still have to fight. You have people waiting for you. You have too many things to do. You still have things you need to explain. Don’t let it end here.  _

_ Ear piercing growls. Demons rushing towards him in a horde. A snap at his throat. Claws on his chest. Legs being thrown from under him. His back hitting the tarmac and eyes counting the numbers above him. Pain like he never felt before.  _

_ But still, he fought back. Slashing all around him. Hearing demons scream as they disintegrated. Still, more came. Teeth imbedding themselves into his leg and ripping. Nails dragging along his chest, feeling like they were cutting him open. Scrapes and bruises beginning to litter his arms.  _

_ No matter how hard he tried, there were too many. There was no point in fighting back anymore, no matter how much he wanted to. Feeling darkness overtake his vision and senses.  _

_ Woojin just let go.  _

* * *

“Woojin, wake up. Shh, settle down. You’re safe, I’m right here with you.” 

Blinking his eyes open, feeling himself tensing his muscles as Chan held his arms down, Woojin slowly came back to reality, leaving behind the tangible memory that was still crawling all over his skin. 

It wasn’t just a dream, it was a memory. He remembered what it was that happened to him, how he had nearly lost his life to the horde of demons, led by a Prince of Edom. 

“Hey, are you ok?” Chan asked worriedly, letting go of Woojin’s wrists now that he was no longer struggling in a way that could have aggravated his injuries, moving his hand up to sweep through the Shadowhunter’s tousled black hair instead. 

Inhaling deeply through his nose, Woojin allowed himself to relax when the shadows from his nightmare disappeared and all he could see was a concerned alpha hovering above him, trying to calm him in a way that had proved very effective in the past. 

“What were you dreaming about? You were whimpering in your sleep.” 

“About what happened to me,” Woojin mumbled, not clearing anything up for Chan since there had been too many instances to which he could actually be referring to. “In the alleyway. I remember how I got hurt.” 

With a grimace which looked to Woojin like Chan could almost feel the pain that he had endured, the alpha settled in beside him now that he could see the elder had quietened down and wouldn’t further worsen his wounds. 

“Do you mind telling me about it? Not in detail, just how you came to be there in the first place.” 

Woojin did mind, a lot. He didn’t want to have to remember all of that again but he would always tell those close to him that if they were worried about something, they should talk about it, get it off their chest, confide in someone they trusted. For Woojin, Chan was someone he placed his complete trust in, even more so since he had stayed with him throughout the entire week and after he had fallen back asleep, keeping his promise to do so. 

“I was on my way to meet up with Sungie and Bin. Then I heard a woman screaming for help in the alleyway. I couldn’t leave someone to get hurt so I went to check.”    


That would have been most people’s line of thinking in the world that they lived in. It was a large part of Woojin’s job, to help those in need, especially innocent Mundanes who had no idea why they were being attacked by a monster that remained invisible to their eyes. 

“But when I got there, it was a dead end, nobody in sight or the surrounding area. Completely bare and then-”

The shudder that ran through Woojin’s body shook him enough to impede his speech. It was just continuous flashes of that night, one that he would really rather forget but at the same time, it held one too many important details that he needed to remember. 

“Take your time,” Chan spoke calmly, rubbing his thumb over the Shadowhunter’s pulse point on his wrist.

“Azazel…”

“Azazel?” the wolf echoed with a puzzled tone, not understanding why Woojin had just thrown out a Greater Demon’s name into the mix like that. 

“He was there. He came up behind me, blocked me in and started talking to me, saying that I knew something I shouldn’t and that he had been ordered to make sure I never told anyone about it by his master and that he couldn’t disobey them, even though he wanted to. He knew my name, Channie…”

A Greater Demon being aware of a human’s name was awfully eerie. Knowing a Warlock or Fae’s name may be possible since they were the ones that held the magic usually used to bring demons up to their world from Edom, opening portals and using their spells to keep them bound and under their control so that they wouldn’t wreak havoc on earth but a Shadowhunter like Woojin, someone he had never had any dealings with before? There was no reason for that unless he had been told the elder’s name for a specific reason by someone else. 

“Then, he set the demons on me and I tried to fight but there were too many. I tried…” 

“Ok, it’s ok,” Chan comforted with a taut smile, doing his best not to show how alarmed he was at this sudden revelation. “You did your best, Wooj and you’re still here. You still won.” 

And he had. He had faced a horde of demons whose orders were to make sure that Woojin did not survive but he had, probably thanks to those who had come to his aid. He was still here, alive and kicking and since he was, he would do his goddamn best to get to the bottom of this whole mess, including why he had been singled out and attacked by a Prince of Edom. 

“Areum was in here earlier after you fell back asleep. I told her you woke up and she was rather shocked. I think she expected you to be out for a while longer but I guess she underestimated you,” Chan huffed, saying it in a joking sort of tone but being completely serious. “She said your wounds are healing at a much faster pace now, that you may only need a few more days of bedrest and then you can start moving around a bit but you will have to take it easy for a while longer.” 

Their angelic blood had the great benefit of accelerated healing but that didn’t mean that they would be back to their old selves at the drop of a hat. The superficial wounds would rejuvenate but the soreness and stiffness of a beaten body would unfortunately stay around for a while. Hopefully he could ask Felix for some assistance with his magic to lessen the pain or Minho for some potion that would dull the aches he knew were incoming. 

“Would you like to talk with anyone? I didn’t tell them you had woken up and I asked Areum not to either so everyone didn’t come rushing in here and try to shake you back into consciousness. I think Bin and Felix are standing guard outside?”

No matter how much he wanted to put it off, to stay in his own little world with Chan for a while longer, Woojin knew that certain conversations had to be achieved. While Woojin had to speak with everyone and apologise for worrying them and for his foolish behaviour, there was one person that came above everyone else at the moment. 

“I need to speak with Bin,” Woojin whispered determinedly, nodding when Chan asked him if he was sure he was up to it. 

“Do you want me to stay or…?”

“I think I need to do this alone, just…don’t go too far, ok?” 

He was still afraid. Still afraid that if he let Chan out of his sight, that he might not come back to him. Woojin had spent so long without the younger and he never wanted to go through that again, not when the wolf had said he wanted to give their friendship another shot. And though he trusted in Chan to keep that promise, it was his own anxiety acting up, ghastly words being whispered in his ears that Chan would abandon him once again. 

“There are a couple things I have to do but I promise I won’t leave the Institute. If you need me, just call out. I’ll keep my ears open,” Chan suggested, seemingly enough to convince Woojin who let go of his hand and nodded slowly. “Ok, I’ll call him in.”   


Even as Chan took a few steps away, Woojin willed his hand to stay by his side, even though he desperately wanted to reach out to the Werewolf and hold onto him, just in case. 

“Hey, Felix, do you mind if I borrow Bin for a second? Just need to ask him something.” 

A strange feeling of dread overtook Woojin’s senses as he heard the Faerie utter a small ‘of course’, meaning that he would soon be coming face to face with Changbin. He had no idea what kind of reaction he was going to get out of his younger brother, much like he had no idea about Chan’s but the first instance had turned out alright in the end. Woojin just hoped that this would hold the same kind of ending for him. 

“What’s up?” Changbin replied to the wolf’s call, not even taking any notice of Woojin when he walked into the room since he was sure Chan would have mentioned if something was wrong with him. 

“Someone wants to speak with you.”   
  


With the implication being that it wasn’t Chan who required his presence, Changbin could only rightly assume that it was the other person currently in the room that had called upon him, spinning his head around so fast that Woojin couldn’t help but snort when the younger’s eyes took a second to catch up. 

“Wooj?” 

“Hey, Binnie,” Woojin responded, tears already springing to his eyes when he saw the relief physically sweep through Changbin’s body. 

“I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be around, Wooj, remember what I said, yeah?” 

With a small nod at the unspoken promise between him and the alpha, Woojin let Chan go to complete whatever business he needed to. Despite not wanting him to go, he felt just as safe, just as secure, when it was Changbin who was by his side, knowing that there wasn’t a thing in the world that the younger wouldn’t protect him from. 

“Are you just going to keep standing over there?” Woojin asked with concern when Changbin made no move towards him after Chan had left the room, the door clicking quietly behind him. 

However, with shaky steps, Changbin eventually began to shuffle forwards and with each inch he closed in the distance between them, the redder his cheeks became, the shining in his eyes ever increasing, the trembling of his lower lip becoming more intense until he was by his brother’s bedside, silent sniffles clogging up his throat as the tears overflowed, lowering himself until he had his face hidden away in Woojin’s neck, soul finding solace when he could once again wrap his arms around Woojin and get a soothing hug in return. 

“God, I was so afraid that we’d lost you,” hiccuped Changbin, his tears increasing when Woojin began to stroke the back of his head in sympathy, knowing that he had probably been the one to hold everything together while he was out.

“You can’t get rid of me that easy,” Woojin chuckled, dropping his smile when he heard Changbin whine against his skin. “I’m sorry, Bin. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Never in a million years did Woojin ever think he would have to have a conversation like this with Changbin. Going on patrol, especially in the middle of a demon attack, always carried immeasurable risks but the thought was that getting killed in action was something that happened to other people, that if you were careful and prepared, you could always manage to survive but there was no way Woojin could have predicted what would have happened. 

“What  _ did  _ happen, Wooj? You were supposed to come and meet up with us. Why were you in that alleyway by yourself?” 

Woojin told Changbin the bare details but when it came to Azazel, he knew that this wasn’t the right time to divulge the bones of the story. 

“There is some other information about it but I want to tell everyone when we’re together. A lot of you don’t know some important facts just yet. Just give me a few days so we can gather together and discuss this.”

“Does Chan know?” Changbin coaxed, a sly way of checking up on the relationship between the two. 

“Yeah but he was aware of things that you’re not yet.” 

While he looked a little annoyed at being left out of the loop, he knew that Woojin wouldn’t keep something this important from him unless it was absolutely necessary, so he conceded defeat for now, knowing that, from the elder’s words, he would know about everything eventually. 

“Speaking of Chan, you guys seem to be doing ok…”

Noticing the little twinkle in the younger’s eyes, Woojin coughed a little to hide a laugh but it seemed to have the opposite effect when Changbin immediately jumped up to get him a drink of water to combat the incoming spluttering fit he thought was coming.    


“Yeah, we’ve decided to try being friends again.”

“Oh? That’s great!” exclaimed Changbin a little too loudly, wincing at the loudness of his own voice as it echoed throughout the silent medical suite. 

“Mmm, we figured that we couldn’t keep going the way that we were. You know, since he  _ knows  _ about everything now.” 

At the suggestive tone in Woojin’s voice, it took Changbin less than a second to catch on to what he was trying to imply, that he may be royally fucked since he told the one person who was supposed to stay in the dark about the sinister secret that had been hidden for so long. 

“You told him.” 

“Uh, y-yes, I did. I had to, Wooj. You were in trouble and we didn’t know where you were and we couldn’t get a hold of Min to track you and Chan was being a stubborn ass and the only way to get him to help was to reveal everything and I’d do it again if it meant saving you and-”

“Thank you, Binnie.”

It took a few seconds for Woojin’s appreciativeness to kick in before Changbin ceased his rambling of trying to justify his actions. 

“You’re thanking me?”

“Yeah. You had the guts to do what I’ve been wanting to do for such a long time. You saved me by telling him that secret. In more ways than one.”

“You were just trying to keep everyone safe by keeping the secret, Wooj.” 

“And look where it got me. Honestly, Bin, thank you for telling him.” 

Changbin had said he didn’t care anymore, that he had to tell Chan about Woojin’s secret but it was a betrayal of his brother’s trust since he had been so adamant about keeping it from the wolf and everyone else. Luckily, after what had happened to Woojin, escaping death by the skin of his teeth, it seemed that he held no ill will towards him. 

“Oh, well then. I guess we’re good then?” 

“Not quite. I need to say sorry to you too, for asking you to keep my secret. That wasn’t fair to you in any way. I felt an unbelievable burden from carrying it and for some reason, I couldn’t see that it was probably the exact same for you. I’m sorry I asked that of you, Binnie.”

All that Changbin gave Woojin back was a taut sort of smile since he in no way could say that this secret hadn’t been weighing on him constantly. It was what he thought of every night before he drifted off to sleep, what it was that he could have done to reveal Yunseok’s wrongdoings or make Woojin see sense without endangering anyone. It never amounted to anything but it haunted him each and every time he would see Chan brush Woojin off when he tried to make conversation or be close to him in some way. 

But everything was out in the open now, it was no longer holding him down and Woojin had actually thanked him for blurting it out. 

“So, anything noteworthy that I missed in the last week?” 

Where was Changbin supposed to begin? There was  _ too  _ much that had happened within the last week that he needed to fill his elder brother in on. But for worrying him so much after this incident, Changbin was about to plunge the poor boy into an information hole. 

“Well, Lix and his mom are now living in the Institute because the Seelie Queen went batshit crazy about Lix speaking up against her and imprisoned him and I had to go to the Fae realm and fight a duel to release the both of them. Good thing is that they’re free now but they have nowhere to go as of yet, so they’re in the guest rooms.” 

The only change in Woojin’s features was that his eyes gradually became bigger and bigger with each passing word until they couldn’t widen any more. 

“I…did not expect you to say something like that.” 

“Oh, it gets better. Apparently, Sungie and Min have been fooling around for the last seven months but Sungie realised somewhere in the middle of their adventure that he was in love with Min and while it took a little bit longer, Min realised that he loved Sungie too but the two idiots didn’t cop onto that and were running around in circles, pining over each other but the night you were brought back here, they finally confessed, they are now dating and have been seriously lovey dovey ever since.” 

Along with his bulging eyes, Woojin’s jaw was now hanging open in shock, never imagining that Jisung would fall in love with the Warlock or vice versa, muchless that Minho would eventually choose someone to actually settle down with. 

“What. The. Fuck? How did we not notice that?!” 

“I’m not done. Some shit went down between Minnie and Hyunjin, none of which I can tell you and supposedly Jeongin was dragged into it too. Whatever it was has been cleared up and now they’re like three peas in a pod. Jeongin and Hyunjin are like really good friends now, which is weird since a week ago, they were ready to rip each other’s throats out.”

Woojin looked like he was going to pass out after all of those revelations, taking a much needed deep breath to try and sift through all of that information. 

“Is that all?” 

“Hmm, I think so?” Changbin playfully pondered, tapping his chin with his thumb as he desperately tried to think of something else that he could use against him. 

“Huh…”

“This is what happens when you sleep for a full week.” 

Woojin accepted that, not like he could have helped it all that much. It was like everyone had waited to advance in their lives until he was knocked out cold. Then again, his own relationship had improved after he had been attacked so it’s not like he could complain all that much. Playing into Changbin’s lighthearted joke, Woojin brought his hand up to his heart, gently placing it over it and smiling impishly. 

“I’ll do my best to make sure it never happens again.”

* * *

Chan may not have been entirely truthful when he told Woojin that he had a few things to do. He had pretty much taken care of everything important that required his attention when the Shadowhunter had still been unconscious. He had daily check-ins from Wonsik since he had asked the young man to take over his leadership tasks for the time being and everything seemed to be going rather well in the house according to Wonsik. They had all managed to keep on track with their chores that they were all assigned each week and everyone was pitching in even more due to their alpha’s absence. There seemed to be even less arguments in the house, less incidents of any of his pack becoming snappish or territorial since they didn’t want to add to Chan’s stress right about now, all of them knowing why it was that he hadn’t been home in a week. Jeongin had also been making stops at the house every so often to pick up things for Chan and from what he had told him, the house did indeed seem to be still in one piece. 

Still, it made him feel awful when Wonsik had offhandedly mentioned that some nights, the pups would cry and ask where he was and when he would be home, saying they wanted to read them a bedtime story like he always did; his big, bad wolf impersonation was quite spot on if he did say so himself. But when Wonsik and the other older wolves would tell them he was staying to watch over Woojin, they always quietened down and put up much less of a fight and Chan already knew why since all of the pups used to love Woojin coming over. 

The Shadowhunter would never say no when he was dragged away to play, ending up with ten screaming kids hanging out of him while he giggled right along with them. They had all been pretty distraught when Chan had told them that Woojin would no longer be coming around to see them and had pestered him for a reason but when he had growled at them to drop it, something he still regrets to this day, they never asked why again. But if he was staying with him now, that could only mean good things. 

With his pack taken care of and his friends close to him at the Institute, he really didn’t have all that much to see to. Really, it was just one thing. One thing that Chan had been waiting all week to do. 

Back pressed up against the wooden panelling of the wall of one of the more secluded hallways of the Institute, since all that was at the end was the records room, Chan played with his chipped nails, all of them bitten down from his anxiety during the week. Really, nobody came down this way all that much but there was one scent that he noticed seemed to be more prominent each time he passed it on his way to the bathroom. It was a scent he absolutely detested but for what he wanted to accomplish today, he would have to endure it. 

And maybe he wouldn’t show up like he had every other day but Chan was going to wait here for as long as it took. Thankfully, he wasn’t standing there all that long before his guest of honour showed up, halting in his steps when he saw the Werewolf leader standing there, nonchalantly, like he had just been passing by this little, unused area of the Institute. 

“You’re still here? I would have thought you would have given up and gone home already, Werewolf.” 

Calm. Tranquil. Serene. Chan was screaming at his wolf to adhere to these emotions because if it were up to his beast, he would have already ripped Yunseok’s throat out and left him to die miserably in a place where nobody would think to look for him. Still, the smug look on the bastard’s face as he continued to walk towards the record’s room did nothing to lessen his wolf’s longing to kill. 

“Now why would I do that? I think I have just as much right to be here as everyone else. Don’t you think so, Yunseok?” 

The man stopped straight in front of him, turning to snort at the wolf. Whether it was because of Chan’s blatantly disrespectful use of the elder’s name like that or his belief that he deserved to be here was unclear but it still rubbed Chan up the wrong way. 

“Why are you still here, Chan?” Yunseok quipped, clearly trying to get a rise out of the wolf but Chan wouldn’t fall so easily, immediately changing the subject to favour him. 

“You know, it amuses me that I’ve been watching over your son for the last week and the first thing you ask when you see me is why I’m still here, not how Woojin is doing. I think you would have to be living in a hole not to know what happened and as his father, you don’t seem all that concerned about his well being.”

He was playing dumb and Yunseok knew that too. Chan had spent over two years with Woojin, constantly in the Institute and he knew the kind of relationship that Yunseok had with his son. There was no love there, something which Chan never understood but it didn’t surprise him that Yunseok didn’t bother to ask the one person that could tell him exactly how Woojin was doing. 

“I assume that he is awake and well. Otherwise you wouldn’t be out here speaking with me,” Yunseok reasoned, which was a very fair point since Chan had barely left the room the entire week, only when it was absolutely necessary and he wouldn’t be gone for more than five minutes. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have much more important things to be doing than standing here talking to you. Run along back to your master like a good little dog.”

And when his wolf was insulted directly like that, Chan could do nothing to hold himself back, grabbing onto Yunseok’s lapels and throwing him against the wall he had been leaning against earlier, barely any space left between them as Chan snapped at him with his bare teeth. 

“Don’t you fucking dare speak to me like that, asshole,” the Werewolf fumed, only getting more irritated when Yunseok didn’t look bothered in the slightest by the attack. “I know the kind of man you are and nothing is beneath you.”   


While Yunseok had never done anything publicly that could be seen as morally ambiguous, playing the part of the saintly Shadowhunter that was required of him for the public eye, Chan knew that there was no way he hadn’t done some things beneath the surface that would have everyone looking at him in a very different way, taking him down off of the pedestal that the rest of the world outside of this Institute had placed him upon. It was only in his personal life that those around him could see what kind of brute he really was, how he spoke to those he felt were beneath him and how he treated Woojin. It was because of that, that Chan was almost certain when it came to his accusations. 

“I know you had something to do with this, with Woojin getting hurt. I know you were involved,” Chan whispered threateningly. 

“Are you trying to suggest that I tried to have my own son murdered? How would I control a horde of demons and make them attack him?” 

It shouldn’t have but nearly made Chan laugh out loud when Yunseok seemed shocked at the idea that he could want Woojin dead, as if he loved him. As Chan had already mentioned, nothing was below this man and if getting Woojin out of the way advanced whatever plans he had, to make his power more significant, the wolf had no doubt that he wouldn’t even bat an eyelid at doing something like that. 

Maybe Yunseok hadn’t been in control directly but if he had known about whoever was controlling Azazel and getting him to set the demons upon Woojin, he was playing it awfully smart by not mentioning that since only Woojin and Chan knew about that particular detail at the moment. 

“I don’t know how you did it but I know it was you. The timing is too perfect.”

“What do you mean timing? Did something else happen? I mean, honestly, what reason would I have to want my son dead? Maybe you could help me fill in some blanks here, Chan.” 

There was no reason to fill in the blanks because it was obvious that Yunseok knew. Woojin had mentioned that, when Azazel had been speaking with him, the Greater Demon had said that he was there because Woojin knew too much and the only sort of critical knowledge that Woojin had become aware of recently that Chan knew of was the facility and what went on there. Nobody should have been able to tell that Woojin was aware of that, he hadn’t told anyone outside of his three friends who would never tell a soul for fear of endangering Woojin and those they cared about. 

But Yunseok  _ knew.  _

Chan didn’t know how but it was clear from his snide and cocky demeanor that he had somehow found out that Woojin had gotten into his files and saw what had been in there. If the Clave were known to be involved in something as horrific as experimenting on Downworlders, it would be the end of them and not to mention the whole sense of order and power over Downworlders like Chan would disintegrate since they would no doubt rise up against them once they discovered what was happening to their people. There were no sort of signs that would tell Yunseok that Chan, Hyunjin or Minho knew too but it was clear in the man’s eyes that he knew about Woojin. However, Chan wasn’t going to play along with his little game. He was hoping that his involvement in this whole thing was still unknown to Yunseok, something he could later use to his advantage. 

“Are you going to kill me? Right here in the Institute?” 

With an exasperated laugh, Chan let go of the pompous man’s jacket, watching him brush himself down like he had some sort of animal dander on his sleeves, a snide jab towards Chan. 

“Why on earth would you attack a leading member of the Clave like that, Chan? There are cameras all over the place. That’s all the proof that I need and with the snap of my fingers, I could have you locked up for assault. Not that I think all that highly of you but I did believe that you were a lot smarter than that.” 

Chan had lost himself once but that had been more his wolf’s doing than his own. Telling his beast to calm down and not let Yunseok get to it, Chan simply backed off a little, hands on his hips as he glared at the man with a commiserate stare. 

“See, the thing about being in a relationship with Woojin for such a long time, was that I became very familiar with this place. Why do you think I waited for you here? It’s because it’s one of the only places in the building that has a blind spot. No angle here caught what just happened between us. It’s just your word against mine, something I think most people in this Institute don’t really trust anymore.”   
  


That seemed to shock Yunseok, enough for the man to look up to the corners of the ceilings to see if Chan was telling the truth and sure enough, not a single camera could be found along the hallway. Despite the elder living here for much of his life, he never took notice of something like that but Chan had since he would always canvas a new place he would visit for the first time, just in case he would have to make some sort of escape plan in the event of a random attack. Call him paranoid but in instances like this, it had worked out rather well. 

  
“Let me make my intentions very clear, Yunseok. I know all about what you said to Woojin to make him break it off with me seven months ago and I’m not all that thrilled about it, you see.”

A raised eyebrow from Yunseok told Chan that he had at least caught his attention with his admittance, which was exactly the plan since the wolf needed the Shadowhunter to be listening very closely to what he was going to say next, so that he would remember it for the rest of his days, however long that may be.    


“If you ever threaten my pack again, I have no problem in absolutely tearing you apart. I’ve never been a fan of disembowelment, the idea is too animalistic for me but for you, I could make an exception. It seems like it would be a most violent and fitting end for you.” 

Chan took a step forward once again after he had backed off, beginning to close in on Yunseok, making him take an unknowing step backwards towards the wall behind him. The arrogant sneer that had been pulling his lips wide a moment ago had slowly faltered, replaced by a tight lipped scowl as he stared straight ahead, probably noticing how Chan’s eyes were beginning to be overcome by that crimson shade that told everyone he was not to be played with in this moment. 

“If you ever threaten my friends again, Sungie, Bin or any of the others at this Institute and beyond, you’re going to wish that you were never born. I will take you apart piece by piece and nobody will be able to tell what you used to be by the time I’m done with you.”

A small thump emanated throughout the solitude of the hallway as Yunseok’s back met with the wood, though he was still trying to play it cool, like he wasn’t feeling jeopardised and overly exposed when he was left alone with the wolf who had an immense power lying within him. Chan was glad that he looked skittish; it just meant that he was really paying attention to what he was trying to get across. 

With his final point of his little speech, Chan reached up to begin fixing Yunseok’s collar that was slightly askew, noticing the slight twitch in the man’s eye who was still trying to maintain his demeanor of keeping himself together in front of the alpha but from the tiniest scent that Chan could pick up, he knew that he wasn’t doing a very good job. 

“If you ever threaten Woojin again, if you  _ ever  _ lay a hand on him again, I will kill you in the most painful and unimaginable way possible. I will watch you writhe and squirm, choking on your own blood while you scream for help and nobody will come to save you. And it will be such a pleasure. It will be  _ my  _ pleasure.” 

A soft double tap on the man’s shoulder solidified Chan’s promise along with a bright smile that practically yelled that he was completely serious when he said he would enjoy taking him down. 

Because he would. He absolutely would. Nothing in this world would give him greater pleasure because, even before he had destroyed the best relationship he ever had with the most wonderful person he had ever met, Chan completely  _ detested  _ the man. He was everything wrong with the world, everything wrong with those sitting in authority, helping himself instead of those who really needed it, those under his care. Not to mention how he treated Woojin, constantly putting him down and belittling him, making his confidence plummet and make him think he’s not good enough for anyone. There was nothing that Chan could point out that was good about the man and having the gut feeling that he was involved in what had happened to Woojin didn’t do anything to sate the feeling of innate dislike. 

“And I could do all that now and fulfill everyone’s wish. But I won’t,” Chan grinned, rubbing his hands off of his jeans, like touching Yunseok had soiled his hands. “I won’t until I’ve exposed everything you have ever done. I will make sure you pay for all the pain you’ve caused. And you can try to come after me but you won’t be fast enough to catch me. And if it comes to the point where I have no choice but to abandon my plan of uncovering all you have done because you’ve become a threat to my family and kill you instead, it doesn’t bother me all that much. Either way, you have no hold over me anymore. You have no hold over Woojin anymore. Everyone will know you for who you truly are.” 

He was sure that most people within the Institute already did from the way he sauntered around the place, even when he was no longer in charge but Chan wanted the whole world to understand what type of man Yunseok was, Shadowhunter and Downworlder alike. He had already decided to make it his mission to bring Yunseok to his knees, to admit to everything he had done and if he had to take down the whole Clave to do that, he had absolutely no reservations about doing that. 

“I appreciate you taking the time to stop and speak with me. For now, I need to return to my friend. You see, Woojin and I have decided to begin a new relationship and there’s no way on this earth that I will let you interfere with this one. Good afternoon, Yunseok. I pray we  _ never  _ have to speak again.” 

Maybe it wasn’t a smart thing to do, threatening one of the most powerful people in their world but Chan couldn’t give two fucks right now. He needed Yunseok to know that he was onto him, he needed him to know that he was going to figure out his misdeeds but most importantly, he needed him to know that he should be afraid of him and what he could accomplish when he was determined to reveal everything he had done. 

Not letting Yunseok get in another word, Chan simply turned his back on him, walking back towards the room where he had left Woojin, wanting to get back to the injured Shadowhunter as quickly as possible and really, that already told him a lot, not wanting to be separated from him. 

Feeling awfully good about himself by the way he had stunned Yunseok into silence, Chan fell into a slight skip as he traversed down the hallway but his heart plummeted when a bare whisper hit his ears, one he had said he would listen out for if needed but one he didn’t think he would ever hear. One full of fear that made the wolf break into a full on sprint back to the medical suite. 

_ “Channie…” _

* * *

Lying in the quiet medical suite, feeling tender fingers sweeping through his hair allowed Woojin some much needed relief from all of life’s little problems. He had been speaking with Changbin for the last fifteen minutes or so but had become increasingly somnolent, beginning to reply in one word sentences until Changbin had gotten the message and told Woojin to close his eyes and that he would stay with him until Chan came back. That had been the plan but things changed slightly with three soft raps on the door. 

“Hey there, can I come in?” 

“Sure, Mom,” Changbin whispered but saw it was for naught when Woojin had woken up again when he had heard Areum’s sweet voice break through his drowsiness. 

“So, you finally decided to wake up, huh?”

Woojin was about to say that it hadn’t really been up to him, that it was the fact that he had heard a soothingly beautiful melody in his dreams, one he couldn’t quite hear properly until he realised he would have to break through the barrier fog holding him down to be able to appreciate it further. Light had begun to crack through the darkness, along with vulnerable whispers of desperation asking him to come back. It was only then he found the strength to open his eyes and return to consciousness, only to find a slightly shocked alpha hovering above him. 

“Though you’d all be missing me too much,” Woojin smirked dopily, getting a light smack on his knee from his adoptive mother. Even so, it looked like an enormous weight had been lifted from her shoulders when she heard that Woojin seemed to be doing well enough to give smartass reactions to her worrying.

“Changbin, could you give us a few minutes?”    


“Sure,” Changbin replied, looking back at Woojin to make sure him leaving was alright, getting a small nod in return.

“Sungie was sitting with Felix outside when I came in and I told them to take a break. They both ran off to the kitchen in a rush and told me to tell you that you’re not to go there for half an hour or so. Whatever concoction they’re going to try and burn the kitchen down with is a mystery but I’m sure they’ll be…fine,” Areum chuckled as she trailed off but both young men could tell she was unsure since. 

In the last week that Jisung and Felix had spent time together, they had wreaked a hell of a lot of havoc. While the Faerie had always been more reserved and timid around the Institute, Jisung seemed to bring out the best, or worst, in the Fae, getting him to help in his adventure to cause as much destruction as possible around the place. Still, Changbin had never seen Felix as bright and happy as he had when he was around Jisung, other than the time he spent with him, of course. The Fae had found a side of himself that had never been present before and Changbin was glad he was allowing himself to become more comfortable around his temporary home. 

Still, in the last week, both of them had gotten into  _ so  _ much trouble. To mention a few incidents, one risky experience had Felix trying to show Jisung how to fly and the Shadowhunter leaping off the side of the building in an attempt to mimic him. Only for Minho had been observing and caught the squirrel with his magic, Jisung would have been a flat pancake on the ground. Another night found both of them sneaking around the Institute, tiptoeing into different rooms and donning clown and lion masks before jumping on unsuspecting people’s beds and scaring the absolute shit out of them. Felix hadn’t understood the point but Jisung got a big kick out of it and also one or two hard punches in the arm from his victims. 

Changbin had given Jisung a stern talking to and Felix a more understanding one so that he wouldn’t fall for Jisung’s plans so easily but neither of them seemed to listen, continuing to create mayhem wherever they went. So, he understood why his mother was unsettled about the fact that they had run away to the kitchen together and asked not to be disturbed. 

“I’ll take over the next watch for Woojin, ok? We have some important things to talk about. Give us a little while so that we won’t be disturbed. I know Jisung will want to come and see Woojin when he realises he’s awake but not until I give him a good check over, nobody else is to come in, ok? Go and get some rest, dear.” 

Woojin was about to say that she could keep practically everyone out while she was giving him a physical exam but if she in any way attempted to stop a certain alpha from returning to the room if he so wished, she would have a whole other problem on her hands but he kept quiet, thinking that she was probably already aware of that from all the times she had been in here checking on him during the week. 

“I’ll be back later, Wooj,” Changbin groaned from lack of movement as he hopped off the bed, making it halfway towards the door before running back to Woojin and kissing his forehead, bolting again when Woojin tried to playfully swipe at him. 

“See you later, Bin.” 

As the young man left, Woojin noticed that Areum had already gone over to the screens displaying his vitals, jotting down the numbers that he didn’t really understand. It would have seemed completely normal to anyone else but Woojin couldn’t help but feel a little like there was something going on. 

When he had been injured on missions before, nothing this serious, of course, Areum would have been upon him the moment he walked through the door, asking him innumerable questions about what happened, how he was feeling, that she would go and fight the demons that did this to him with her bare hands but right now, she was entirely silent. Moving back and forth, checking his heartbeat, his IV line, nothing was said and it was putting Woojin on edge for some reason, like it had the day he had been checking the files he had discovered on his father’s computer in his office, when she had come in and Woojin had gotten the strangest feeling that she had caught onto what he was doing, however impossible that may have been. 

“Areum?” 

Placing the clipboard back on the end of his bed, Areum closed her eyes, shaking her head before glancing towards the door, like she was afraid someone would come in and disrupt their time together. 

“Woojin, we need to talk.” 

Another memory flashed through his mind, when his father had first come back to the Institute and Areum had known that he was unsettled by his presence. They had been sitting together in his room and she had looked like she wanted to say something but had digressed and said it ‘wasn’t time for him yet.’ Whatever that subject matter had been, it was apparent that Areum thought he was now ready to hear it. 

Taking a seat on the bed, holding down one of his wrists, which only made Woojin feel even more caged in, like he had nowhere to run, Areum stared him down with a slight harshness, sighing heavily before uttering a question that turned Woojin’s blood to pure ice. 

“What do you know about Facility 0325?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And off I go...


	50. Recondite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I have been editing this chapter so much because I do feel like it's an important one.  
Also, I've hit 50 chapters! And there's still so much more to go...Thanks to everyone who has read up until now!  
Now, let's see if your bad feelings checked out...

Felix was worried. 

Right now, his life was going really well. He was no longer the Seelie Queen’s lapdog, doing things he detested for her amusement. He was living in the same place as his wonderful boyfriend and ever so lovely friends. Everyone here treated him so nicely and always asked if there was anything that he needed. His room was magnificent and Changbin had brought him shopping to get him everything he needed during the week. Things were going so,  _ so  _ well. 

But there was one problem. His mother. 

Ever since they had decided to stay here a week ago, he had barely seen her since. For most of the day, she would be either locked away in her room or completely gone from the Institute, not even telling Felix that she was leaving or where she was going and that didn’t sit well with him. 

Of course he realised that his mother could indeed have her own life, that she might be enjoying her newfound freedom, something that Changbin had mentioned when Felix had voiced his worries about the subject but every time he had asked her if where she was headed or if he could come with her, she always became jittery, avoiding his eyes before she said she just wanted some alone time and rushed out, leaving him behind in a confused daze. 

Callie had never been one to be secretive, especially with Felix. They shared everything with one another and each moment that they could spend together was always taken advantage of, mostly because the time that the Seelie Queen had allowed them was always so short. Now, he was lucky if he got to see her for an hour a day. She was always there to wish him goodnight and for fear of upsetting her and driving her even further away, Felix never brought up the subject of her random disappearances. It worried him but he could do nothing about it for now. 

But it was the main reason why he had been spending so much time with Jisung lately. He had told Changbin about his worries when it came to his mother’s strange behaviour but he had also confided in Jisung since he felt like he was becoming closer and closer to the other Shadowhunter as the week went on. Not being able to give much helpful advice or ways to deal with his concerns since Changbin had covered most of that side of the problem, Jisung thought that he could distract Felix instead by having fun, teaching him about some practical jokes and such, seeing as he never got to do such things as a kid and well, Jisung loved doing things like that because he was still a kid at heart. 

But Felix was a bit more unfocused today, so things like leaping off a building, like they had done three days ago, weren’t probable. Instead, Jisung had brought him to the kitchen, thinking that they could try and do some baking. While Faeries usually ate specialised food that they made in the Fae realm with the vegetation that grew there, they could still eat human food too. Wild Faeries had no choice but to do that, so Jisung figured that he would have to get Felix to like it too since he would have to change his entire diet now. 

And on today’s menu was chocolate chip cookies. Not the healthiest of snacks but Jisung had told Felix that chocolate was the answer to all of life’s little problems. Teaching Felix how to make them would at least take his mind off of his mother for a little while and also allow Jisung a little rest from worrying about Woojin. Minho had returned to his apartment for the afternoon and said he would be back in an hour or so. Another thing Jisung had to distract himself from; the lack of his Minho. 

Felix had been intrigued by the little chocolate chips that Jisung told him to tip into the bowl and stir in until they were evenly distributed before he asked Felix to open his mouth as he popped a single chip in there, watching the Fae giggle and make yummy noises at the sweet chocolate coating his tongue. 

“Lixie, stop daydreaming. You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on the cookies! They should be done now.”

Felix bent down to look through the glass pane, gasping a little when he saw the edges of the sweet treats slowly beginning to turn a much too dark shade of brown. Running to grab oven mitts, Felix yelled at Jisung to open the door for him, frightening the Shadowhunter in the process but they just managed to save their creations from being completely inedible. 

“It’s ok, Lixie. They look good. Maybe a little crispy but not bad for your first time,” Jisung complimented, taking a cooling tray out from one of the cupboards and beginning to place the cookies upon them. 

“Do you think Binnie will like them?” 

“He really likes cookies. I’m sure he’ll love them even more when he knows you’re the one who made them.” 

The Faerie hoped so. He wanted to do something nice for Changbin, something to surprise him. After everything his boyfriend had done for him lately, Felix felt like a little bit of a burden, despite Jisung reassuring him that he was no such thing. In all his life, Felix never had to worry about imposing on others since everybody would tell him practically each and every day if he was being a bother. Changbin though? He was too sweet to say if he was being irritating. He didn’t think Changbin would ever say something like that but Felix just wanted to make sure and give him something back to him for once and since he couldn’t do something overly substantial, Jisung had suggested baking something sweet for him. 

“Good, I hope he does.”

They spent the next ten minutes waiting for the cookies to cool enough until they could decorate them, drawing little animals in multicoloured icing. Jisung drew a cute rabbit but put the snout of a pig on it, confusing Felix a little but when he said that it was a running joke between him and Changbin, he simply moved on to trying to draw an orange cat on his one. 

When they were satisfied, they arranged them on a plate to bring to Changbin but just before he managed to get through the door, is swung open, nearly knocking the cookies out of the Fae’s hands but luckily, Jisung had been just behind him, quick enough to hold onto Felix’s waist to steady him. 

“Hey, am I allowed into the kitchen now?” Changbin laughed, noticing Felix’s eyes shoot from his face down into the plate in his hands. “What have you got there?” 

“Felix wanted to do something nice for you, so we made cookies. Don’t they look good?” Jisung asked as he elongated the last word with widened eyes to show Changbin that Felix could use a little appreciation and reassurance right now. 

“They look amazing. Can I try one, Lix?” 

The Fae gave such an enthusiastic nod while he held the plate towards the elder, eyes sparkling as he watched Changbin bite into the treat, the Shadowhunter frowning a little at first, which worried the Fae slightly. 

“I am sorry if they are not perfect. It was my first time and Sungie tried to guide me but I was a little distracted by certain things and, well, I tried…” 

He thought he had put too much vanilla in or not enough flour the way Changbin was taking so long to respond, probably thinking of a way to let Felix down easily because of his disastrous first attempt at baking but when a small smile bloomed upon the Shadowhunter’s face, the Fae realised his worries were probably for naught. 

“You made these all by yourself, Lix? They’re so good! Is there anything my wonderful boyfriend can’t do? You did such a great job, beautiful,” Changbin complimented, kissing Felix on the cheek, pulling the Fae close when he began to giggle at the feeling of the crumbs from Changbin’s lips brushing against his skin. 

“Barf…”

“Han Jisung, I  _ know  _ you are not making gagging sounds at our PDA. Not when you and a certain Warlock have been hanging out of each other and making out oh so obviously in every room of this here building!” Changbin scolded, taking another cookie off of the plate still in Felix’s hands, letting the Fae know that it hadn’t just been trying to make him feel better about his baking. 

“Touché,” Jisung proclaimed, turning around to tend to the dirty dishes they had used.

When Changbin reached for yet another cookie, Felix slapped his hand away, pinching Changbin’s cheek when the young man pouted at the treatment. 

“Do not eat all of them!”

“Didn’t you say you made them for me? Why can’t I have as many as I want?” Changbin whined, cradling his reddened hand overdramatically. 

“I want everyone to try one. Maybe Woojin would like one when he wakes up!” 

“Whenever that will be.”

At Jisung’s heartbroken mumble, Changbin stopped trying to playfully grab another cookie, patting Felix’s head before making his way over to his forlorn brother. 

“Sung…” Changbin huffed, imploring Jisung to look at him by placing two fingers under his chin when the younger had allowed his gaze to fall to his shoes. 

“What?” 

“He’s up.” 

Changbin had never seen Jisung move so fast in his life, attempting to sprint past him before his arm was caught and he was spun around, back into Changbin’s awaiting arms. Still, he tried to escape to go to Woojin since he had been waiting all week to be able to see his brother’s eyes open again. 

“Woah, my mom is with him at the moment, Sung. She’s speaking with him and giving him a thorough exam. She’ll be in there for a while and asked not to be disturbed. She’ll let us know when she’s done.” 

“But he’s awake? He’s alright?” Jisung yelled in excitement, forcing Changbin to clamp a hand over the younger’s mouth before he made the whole Institute think they were under attack again. 

“Other than being a little stiff and sore, he seems to be on the road to recovery.” 

“Oh, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you…” 

Changbin didn’t know who exactly Jisung was being grateful towards but right now, it didn’t really matter. As he took Jisung up in his arms, he saw Felix right behind him, wiping his eyes as the tears of happiness broke through. Beckoning him over, he had two of the most important people in his life crying into his shirt at the realisation that they had not lost Woojin, something that had been very possible over the last week. 

“Hey, who's making my baby cry?” 

Jisung jumped at the familiar voice but immediately wriggled his way out of Changbin’s hold, leaving Felix to have all of his boyfriend’s attention on him. 

“Min…” 

“Oh, oh, oh, why are there tears, Sungie?” the Warlock consoled, running his fingers through the younger’s hair as he snuggled into his shoulder to try and calm him down from whatever had upset him. “Wait, nothing happened to Wooj, right?” 

“In a way. He is happy because Woojin has finally woken up,” Felix supplied with his arms secured tightly around Changbin’s waist, smiling when Minho quite literally jumped for joy at the news. 

“Woojin is awake?! Why are we standing around here?!” 

“Areum is checking him over. We can go see him later,” Jisung sniffled, inhaling the cologne that Minho must have put on before he had come back.

“That’s…really great,” Minho whispered. 

All Changbin could do was nod happily when Minho caught his eye. They all needed this, to hear that Woojin was going to be ok. It was the last thing on their list for now that let them know that everything would turn out well for them. Despite the things that some were unaware of at the moment, they would, at least for a little while, have a little bit of peace knowing that they had all made it through this nightmare. 

“Minho, would you like a cookie?” 

* * *

“What do you know about Facility 0325?” 

Areum knew. She  _ knew _ . 

She knew about the Facility. She knew that Woojin was aware of it. In theory, she must have known about all of the horrible things that had gone on there, otherwise, she wouldn’t be looking at Woojin like this was the most crucial thing that they had ever talked about. Which it was. But  _ why  _ did she know about it? She shouldn’t have, not if she was on the good side of the story that originated in such a place. Areum knew but Woojin wished she didn’t. 

“You know about it, don’t you?” Areum whispered sternly and right now, Woojin couldn’t think of anything but the fact that she had set this up so that she could be alone with him, so that nobody would come to save him if something unspeakable went down. 

Still grabbing onto his wrist with atypic harshness, Areum glared at him harder, obviously needing to know what it was that Woojin knew about the place but he really didn’t know the right answer here. What if he said the wrong thing and Areum suddenly decided that he knew too much, that it would have been better if Woojin hadn’t actually woken up at all? Should he pretend he had no idea what she was talking about or come forward with the truth? It really wasn’t much of a choice since Areum could always sniff out a lie. 

“Channie…” 

The word slipped out of Woojin’s mouth before he even realised what was happening. He had been dealing with so much over the last few months, such vulnerability when he had nobody to lean on. After reconciling with Chan, hearing the wolf say that he would be there for him from now on, he couldn’t think of anything but how he wanted the alpha right beside him in this instance, to protect him from a very possible threat, a threat he never thought could be possible. Chan said that he would keep his ears open for Woojin’s call should he need him. The Shadowhunter just hoped that his bare whisper would reach the younger without alerting Areum. 

“Woojin, you’re going to need to tell me right now what you know.” 

Areum was his mother. Screw blood relations and all that shit. That kind of thing had done nothing for him in the past. Areum had been the only real parental figure he had ever had. Seungmin and Jisung’s parents had always been there for him, as had Changbin’s father but there was nobody like Areum for Woojin. 

She had heard him say his first words, recorded him taking his first steps, taught him how to ride a bike, read, play the guitar. She had been the one to praise him and pet his hair when he got his first A on an assignment, yelling about how proud she was of him. She had been the one to hold him when he had gotten his heart broken for the first time at the tender age of sixteen. She had been one of his instructors when he had begun his training to be a Shadowhunter. She taught him practically everything he knew. Areum had guided him through life and helped him become the man he was today. 

She was his mother. 

But right now, he was inexplicably afraid of her, because everything that he thought about the woman he loved with all his heart could have been just a facade. The last ten years and very possibly even before that, may have found Woojin loving someone that could have done such monstrous and horrific things to Downworlders. He didn’t want to believe that she could ever do something like that but how could she have known otherwise? 

He had already lost his real mother before he got to know who she was. He didn’t want to lose the woman who had taken on the role and given him the love he needed growing up. He couldn’t bear the thought of that. He couldn’t lose her because of something like this. He just couldn’t. 

Woojin felt like he was in a very defenseless position, seeing as how he could barely move, definitely not able to shield himself should it be needed and from the increasingly desperate look in Areum’s eyes, he was getting more and more concerned that he would need to. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, could hear the heart monitor beside him beginning to speed up and he was sure that Areum noticed too, noticed that he was afraid. 

“Areum…”

Just as Areum was about to continue with her line of questioning, the door to the medical suite burst open, both occupants spinning to look at a heavily breathing Chan, his eyes darting from a very shocked Areum to a terribly panicked looking Woojin. He didn’t even need to ask what had been going on before he entered. Woojin had called for him and Chan had come, just like he said he would. Even disregarding the fear in his voice earlier, the smell of terror right now was enough for the Werewolf to go into protective mode. 

“Step away from him, Areum.” 

Woojin flinched slightly when Areum twirled back around to look at him, wondering how it was that he had managed to summon Chan without her knowing since she obviously had not caught on to his hushed whisper of his name earlier. It was clear by her face that she was disappointed that her conversation with Woojin had been cut short but knew that she couldn’t continue when she could hear the snarls leaving Chan’s mouth, turning around to look at the young man with pleading eyes. 

“Chan, hold on-”

“Step. Away. From. Him,” Chan growled, baring his teeth to show Areum that it was not a request. 

“Ok, ok, calm down. I’m not going to hurt him.”

Raising her hands in defence, Areum sent Woojin one more uncertain look, confusing the young man about where her loyalties laid. He hated how he was doubting her but knowing what had happened at the Facility and how Areum was wise to it, Woojin couldn’t look at her with complete belief until she explained herself. Still, she was doing as Chan asked, moving away from the injured Shadowhunter until she was based in the far corner of the room. 

Not taking his eyes off of her for a second, Chan made sure she was a safe distance away before slowly moving towards Woojin, holding onto his wrist to show him that he was here to help, here to protect him from whatever danger he had sensed. 

“Wooj, talk to me,” Chan soothingly coaxed, gaze never straying from the woman calmly keeping her position opposite him. 

“She…she asked me what I knew about the Facility.”    
  


That was all it took for Chan’s eyes to be consumed by the rage currently coursing through his body. Snarling with a most violent hostility, Chan was sure he saw Areum try to back further into the corner but still keeping silent, unwilling to defend herself when the wolf in front of her could possibly rip her apart for one wrong move. But it seemed to surprise her when Woojin spoke so openly about the Facility to Chan, like she had only had the suspicion that the younger Shadowhunter knew, not the leader of the Werewolf pack too.

“Why the fuck do  _ you  _ know about the Facility?” 

Keeping her lips pressed tightly together, Areum seemed to contemplate her next words carefully, whether she should reveal her secrets to the two young men who were looking at her like she was one of the demons they spent their life trying to take down. 

“Areum, you are one of the only Shadowhunters outside of my friends that I wholeheartedly trust. Please don’t tell me that I have been stupid enough to put my faith in the wrong person,” Chan pled, anger switching to something more profound and sincere, begging a woman who he had been loyal to not to disappoint him. 

“You both know me-”

“Do we?” Chan questioned desperately. 

“You both  _ know  _ me and from the way you’re treating me, you know exactly what went on in that…place too. Do you really think, do you honestly believe that I could be involved in something like that?”

There was silence for a moment, one that made Areum deflate with hopelessness, worried that the boys she had watched grow could turn against her so quickly. She realised that how she had asked Woojin about the Facility wasn’t the kindest way she could have done it but she was on a clock, afraid that she wouldn’t get the young Shadowhunter alone again for some time and she needed to speed through this conversation as quickly as possible, for fear of being discovered. 

“No,” Woojin affirmed, making both Chan and Areum turn to look at him with a hint of bewilderment. “No, I don’t. At least, I hope not.” 

With soft eyes, Areum smiled at Woojin, a nervous breath slowly fading away as a hushed ‘thank you’ left her lips. Even though it was Woojin that had voiced his belief in Areum’s goodness, Chan apparently also had the same mindset about the woman who began to lower her hands. He really couldn’t consider her to be ‘evil’ like everyone involved in that place undoubtedly was but when Woojin had called for him and he walked in on Areum crowding him like that as his former mate’s heart was racing, his vigilance to protect the Shadowhunter overtook and he decided to assume she was guilty until proven innocent. Hearing Woojin say he didn’t believe she was involved let Chan relax, glad that he wasn’t the only one who thought that. 

Feeling that she wasn’t in any immediate danger anymore, Areum moved slowly to the side, lowering herself onto one of the chairs since she got the distinct feeling that they would be here for a while since she had to explain herself, a long and complicated story that diverged down far too many paths. 

“Before I say anything else, who else knows? I had my suspicions it was just Woojin but…”

Apparent from the way she was astonished when Woojin had spoken about it to Chan but Areum had also caught onto the fact that they may not be the only two aware of the situation. 

“Us, Minho and Hyunjin,” Chan supplied, relaxing himself and sitting down on the bed beside Woojin. “But we plan on telling the others when Wooj feels up to it. They deserve to know.” 

“Oh, this makes it so much more complicated.” 

As if this weren’t already complicated enough, Areum thought it was only going to get worse from here on out now that so many people were aware of it or soon to be. Why that was the case puzzled both Chan and Woojin. Surely if more people knew about this atrocity, they could do something about it, band together and take down those who were involved. 

“How did you even know that I knew about it?” Woojin pressed, worried that, if Areum had picked up on it, she may not have been the only one. 

“It was just a theory. You seemed even more skittish than usual over the last few weeks. I first attributed it to Yunseok being here but as time went on, I noticed other things. How you would go missing from the Institute at night, private meetings with friends and every time I would come into your office, you looked like you were hiding something.”

Cursing himself internally, knowing that the constant stress and burdens he had been dealing with the last couple of weeks had finally piled up, Woojin hated that it had become so obvious despite how hard he had tried to hide it.

“With Downworlders beginning to go missing again, I thought you might have caught onto the possible reason why, so I took a shot. I asked what you knew about the Facility earlier and if you had said you knew nothing, then that would have been that but the look in your eyes told me that you were indeed wise to the dealings of that place.” 

“Areum, can you please start explaining yourself?” Chan begged, not sensing any danger from the situation anymore but becoming more and more exasperated about Areum’s concealment of her knowledge. 

“Woojin, do you remember when I was offered a position on the Clave?” Areum quizzed, noticing the slight bob of the raven haired young man’s head.

“Yeah, about twelve years ago, right? But you turned it down.” 

“Because I wanted to stay at home with Changbin and my husband. Many things in life are more important than status and power. They needed me here and at that time, I really had no interest in leaving them to move to Alicante. I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving you boys behind either.” 

Woojin also remembered that. He thought about the conversation he heard between Areum and her husband Jaeho, eavesdropping in the library when they thought that they had been alone. As Areum laid out the idea to her husband, she had obviously thought he would say it was too sudden and that she had obligations here. However, Jaeho had smiled with such pride and told her she should take it, that he would look after Changbin and the other boys while she was gone. A heartwarming sentiment from one spouse to another but Woojin couldn’t help but feel his heart break a little at the thought of his mom not being around anymore and he knew that Changbin would feel the same way. 

Thankfully for his selfish desires, Areum had turned the offer down, saying that personal matters at home prevented her from taking such a prestigious role in the Clave. 

“But they still invited me to Alicante for a briefing. I got the guided tour, the whole shebang, so that I could see what I was missing out on by declining their offer. The whole time I was there though, I heard people whispering about something going on but when I would look at those speaking to each other, they would immediately shut up, moving off somewhere else and I really didn’t think much of it at the time, that they were probably discussing some Clave business that a non-member like myself shouldn’t know. The number 0325 kept coming up but it didn’t seem all that strange to me at the time.” 

In a world like theirs, there was very little that could be considered ‘strange.’ When Seungmin had first returned to the Institute, there were one too many things that had not made sense to him and for a Mundane, their world would seem awfully extraordinary but to those who had grown up with it, it would take something special to be considered as odd. Of course Areum wouldn’t have noticed it. 

“They tried to entice me with everything that wasn’t open to everyone else by giving me access. The last night I was staying in Idris before I returned here, I figured I would take a look at all the files in the system that I would no longer have access to in the morning and really, most of the things on there weren’t that interesting. That was before I landed on a folder that was hidden in a file, hidden within another file, something I wasn’t supposed to see. Results from a certain Facility located in Seoul.” 

That’s how she knew. Areum had found out the same way that they had. Access to a computer that she shouldn’t have been on. It had been nothing more than a fluke. A chance occurrence but it had happened to her nonetheless.

“I didn’t understand what it was at first, ongoing experiments for some unknown research that I had heard nothing about but as I read on, I began to figure out what was happening. After I had fought through the panic attack, I looked into everything that I could but before long, they were knocking on my door telling me that it was time to go. I memorised everything that I could but when I tried to access the files again when I got home, it said my clearance wasn’t enough. I guess they forgot that I could get into something like that when they authorised me the first time.” 

Such obligations had landed upon her shoulders once she had opened up that file, something that Areum never asked for but both Woojin and Chan had felt the exact same way when they had discovered the secret.

“I couldn’t bring myself to tell anyone about it. Not because I wanted to keep it a secret but I didn’t want anyone else getting involved.”

“You’ve known for this long and never said anything to anyone?” Chan whispered accusingly.

“That’s not what I said but before I continue, since you seem to want to villainise me, why didn’t you tell me about the Facility when you found out?”

Chan was speechless because of Areum’s tone since that had not been his intention. It wasn’t that he was trying to make Areum out to be the bad guy but ever since she had found out, there had been so many Downworlders hurt and murdered that could have been saved, wolves within his own pack that had been attacked by demons who needn’t have been. So many lives could have been spared but he knew that it wasn’t really her fault since they hadn’t really done anything much about it either. 

Seeing Chan stalling on a response, Woojin decided to take over for him instead, voicing what he knew they were both thinking. 

“We didn’t tell you because we didn’t know who we could-”

“-trust. Exactly,” Areum finished, with a minute huff. “Do you think it was any different for me? If anything, it was harder. With something like that going on, I felt disgusted, I was sick to my stomach for weeks whenever I imagined those poor souls being taken apart like that in that place, that Shadowhunters could do something like that to people we are supposed to protect.”   


It wasn’t even the words she was saying but the way she was saying them that cleared all suspicions that both Chan and Woojin ever had about Areum. Such emotion, such depth, such mourning for the lost individuals that she could not save in her time. It could have all been an act, a terribly well put together plot but even if Chan couldn’t detect a lie with regards to Areum’s heartbeat or breath control, Woojin knew that her sympathy for the Downworlders who lost their lives was true. 

“I did eventually tell someone though. Apparently, my behaviour after that night changed and Jaeho noticed. When he questioned me about what happened in Alicante, I completely broke down and all he did was hold me close and tell me things would be ok, that we would figure things out together. My husband was such a patient and strong man that I completely believed him and we started investigating together. In the end, after getting nowhere by ourselves, we figured that we should believe in those we trusted and told other people, like you apparently did.”    
  


Before even trying to investigate by himself, Woojin knew that he and Minho wouldn’t have been enough. They would have needed to expand their network if they wanted to get anywhere, so why wait until they knew that the two of them would not be enough? It was just thinking ahead. 

But when he considered who it could have possibly been that Areum had decided to tell, it didn’t take Woojin very long to come up with the only possibilities. 

  
“Seungmin and Jisung’s parents.” 

“Mmm, Minjoon, Seungmin’s mother, knew there was something going on with me too since she could feel my constant distress through our  _ Parabatai  _ bond but she also knew that I would come to her eventually, which I did. I told them about the experiments the Clave were running, what they were doing to Downworlders, how the Facility was here in Seoul and how we needed to keep this whole thing quiet until we could find more evidence. No point in bringing that up before we could prove that this was in fact going on right under our noses.” 

Chan understood that. It wasn’t as if a small group of Shadowhunters could waltz into Alicante, demanding to see everyone within the Clave and pickout those who would possibly be involved in something like this without absolutely no evidence except Areum’s word that she had seen a file on a server she was never supposed to be on. Of course she couldn't stop something like that. 

“After almost two years and a  _ lot  _ of digging, speaking to Downworlders whose friends or family had gone missing, reading up on likely locations for the Facility, we managed to pinpoint a possible building right in the middle of the city, all on the QT.”

That made Woojin and Chan snap to attention. Granted, Areum had a lot more time and people but they had managed to decipher where the Facility actually might be, something that their little group never got close to but from the sounds of it, Areum and her friends didn’t get very far. 

“We devised a plan to try and scout it but we didn’t want to make it seem obvious, going on a mission that was definitely not authorised by the head of the Institute.”

“I did wonder about that. It’s funny you didn’t manage to include Yunseok in your little group of those who knew,” Chan interrupted with a hiss but he was actually thankful that Areum hadn’t been idiotic enough to blab about all of her findings to the one man who he knew couldn’t be trusted. 

“Ever since Hana died, Yunseok became a different man,” Areum faltered, pitiful eyes finding Woojin who never got to see the kind of man his father was before his mother had passed. “Anything good within him just didn’t show anymore and I was afraid of the fact that I didn’t know for sure that I could trust him because of that.” 

Chan doubted that Yunseok ever had a promising outlook on life, the man too evil and corrupt to ever seem like a decent human being but the way Areum reminisced so fondly about him did make the wolf wonder if such a thing was possible.

“We decided that we would split into little groups and try to see if our theory checked out. We knew we had to try and infiltrate before they found out that we were wise to their actions. We wanted to seem inconspicuous so we didn’t all go together. I was to stay here in the Institute and try and run some surveillance and backup with Jaeho while the others…”

A hitch in Areum’s breath kept her from continuing for a moment, making Woojin grab onto the back of Chan’s shirt for comfort because he had the awful gut feeling that he knew where this whole story was heading towards.    


“While the others went into town to try and see if our information was correct. The cover was that they were going to go into town to collect the last of the Christmas presents for the kids…”

Even when he saw it coming, it still hit Woojin like a truck when he heard it for certain from Areum’s own lips. 

“Ten years ago…” Woojin whispered, letting it sink in for Chan as well, the wolf bowing his head low as he held the edge of the bed with a forceful grip.

“Minjoon and Eunyeong, Junseo and Soojin, they all went into the city to try and locate the Facility. As an extra countermeasure so that they wouldn’t be suspicious to those at the Institute, they took Seungmin with them, saying that Minjoon could take him to look at the giant Christmas tree in the centre of the park while the other three went to the suspected location,” Areum disclosed with an obvious wobble in her voice. “Four of them returned that night in body bags.” 

Shining tears began to fall from the woman’s eyes as she recollected that night, when she watched the bodies of, not only her friends but numerous other Shadowhunters, Downworlders and Mundanes alike, be brought back to the Institute. That night when she watched Woojin and Changbin drop to their knees when they realised that Seungmin had been lost amongst the mound of dead bodies, washed away and seeming like nothing more than a realistic dream. That night, when she watched Jisung completely fall apart in front of her when he identified his parents amongst the dead, asking why they wouldn’t open up their eyes as he was sobbing into her chest, screaming so heart wrenchingly when he watched their lifeless bodies being taken away from him. 

That night, when she felt like she didn’t deserve to be alive. 

“I let my friends walk into danger while I was safe here. I was the one who discovered all of this. I was supposed to go into the city with Jaeho while Jisung’s parents stayed here but Changbin was sick that night and didn’t want me to go. We swapped places at the last minute. They went instead and wound up dead because of me,” the Shadowhunter sobbed, letting her head fall into her hands. 

In her grief, she didn’t hear the bed springs creak slightly when a weight was lifted from it nor the squeak of the boots that glided across the impeccably spotless floor so that Chan was straight in front of her, bending down to hold onto her wrist, frightening her for a moment before her hand became intertwined with his, a small comfort for a most distressingly huge enigma.

“And I don’t even know what happened to them. ‘They were injured in the explosion and from their wounds, it was evident that they eventually succumbed to the those they received from fighting the demons.’ That was what I was told but I know it was too much of a coincidence, them dying like that when they were going to do something that would have damaged the Clave. It was too suspicious. It wasn’t just an accident. We got too close. They knew that we were coming and they blew up the Facility. They somehow managed to summon the demons there to use as a distraction. I don’t know how they managed to do that but I  _ know  _ that they did. I have no proof but I am so sure of it.”

Glancing back at the young man in the bed, Chan wondered if they should disclose some of what they knew now. Maybe it was showing their hand too early but in fairness to Areum, she had been extremely forthcoming with her information about the subject so far. There were more questions to be answered and maybe Areum could do that but for now, in this little game of give and take, it was their turn to play a card, Chan’s thoughts being strengthened when Woojin solemnly nodded his head to give the go ahead. 

“We know what happened…”

“What?” Areum sniffled, wiping away her tears with her free hand. 

“We know what happened to your friends.”   
  


Something that Areum hadn’t managed to find out in ten years was apparently public knowledge to the young men sitting in front of her. It was a question that had always taunted her, every morning and every night, how it was that her friends lost their lives but she had never been blessed with an answer. Now, it seemed like the angels were finally going to allow her some peace. 

“How? How do you know?”

  
“Seungmin,” revealed Woojin, coughing once to clear his throat. 

“Seungmin?” 

“He’s the key to all of this.” 

In as much detail as they could, both Chan and Woojin filled in the blanks in each other’s stories, beginning with how Minho had found a block on Seungmin’s memories, startling Areum enough that her tears began to dry up since she never considered that Minho would lie to her about that for any reason. They explained that it had been Jihoon who had put the block there, how he had protected Seungmin and how he had glamoured him and suppressed his memories so that he could not be found by anyone. 

“Wait, so there  _ is  _ a block on his memories? And he was glamoured too? That was why I couldn’t find him. I searched for so long, despite the orders from above to stop. Jihoon was protecting him. But from what?” 

It was then that Woojin revealed what Minho found upon reading Jihoon’s letter, how it was that the elder Warlock saw Shadowhunter’s there that night, how he witnessed one of them murdering Seungmin’s father. Even if that was enough, they continued by explaining that Minho had sifted through Hyunjin’s memories, enough for him to find one face amongst the crowd that they had recognised. Na Chinhwa, a senior member of the Clave.

“Oh my god. It really was us. Not just blowing the place up but actively murdering our own people, setting demons on innocents. Did they conspire with a Warlock? Or…” Areum trailed off, obviously deeply lost in thought at the moment. It took all of five seconds for her head to snap up as her train of thought came to a halt. “Wait, so Minho hasn’t unsealed Seungmin’s memories yet? There’s a possibility that we have a witness to that night?”

“Yes but he doesn’t know that Minho found Jihoon’s letter yet, which is why we have to tell them about everything we discovered. Minho has also been actively working to try and build up enough power to try and combat Jihoon’s block,” Woojin went on, grinning fondly when he noticed that Chan had yet to let go of Areum’s hand, still comforting the woman who was finding out about things that were probably shaking her faith right now. 

“Alright, that’s fair. Cherry definitely deserves to know but I don’t know how he will react to this, Sungie either, hearing that their parents were killed by…” 

That was the exact reason that Woojin hadn’t wanted to tell Seungmin about this until they had more information. He was absolutely terrified about what Seungmin would think if he found out about this, especially after he had just been brought back to them. Woojin didn’t want to lose him so soon if he reacted badly to finding out that his parents had been taken away from him, that he had been forced to live such a lonely life because of their own kind. It still terrified Woojin, not only Seungmin having a terrible but well deserved reaction but Jisung as well, both young men exceedingly emotional, relying on family to get them through the hard times. 

“This whole thing had something to do with Wooj getting attacked too,” Chan interrupted, breaking Woojin out of his insidious fears.

Not even bothering to let Areum ask what he meant, the wolf went ahead to recall what Woojin had told him, about the demons, about Azazel and what the Prince of Edom had said about Woojin knowing too much. All that told Areum was that things were definitely starting up again, that someone else knew that Woojin was aware and that they wanted him out of the way before he spilled the beans. Things were  _ definitely  _ getting more and more complicated. 

“How did you find out about the Facility in the first place?” Areum questioned.

“I found a file on my computer but my security clearance wasn’t enough, the same problem you had. I thought that I could try someone higher up. I broke into my father’s office and used his computer. And there it was.”

Hanging her head but in looking no way surprised, Areum just tightened her hold on Chan’s hand, brushing her hair back out of her tired eyes, this whole experience clearly taking it out of her. 

“So, he’s definitely involved in this then? Pretty much confirms my theory. I’ve just been hoping so badly that it wasn’t true. Besides him and Chinhwa, I don’t have a clue who else was involved. The members of the Clave have changed since ten years ago. Those involved may be retired or the new ones who have joined may have no clue what happened back then but we have no way to tell at the moment.”

An unfortunate blow to be sure. Woojin had been hoping that, in her investigation, Areum might have been able to tell who it was that needed to be brought to justice. It wasn’t just those on the Clave but the Shadowhunters that were involved in the experiments too. There could be numerous people that needed to be imprisoned for their crimes and there surely had to be a list somewhere but neither of the involved parties had it at the moment.

“After they destroyed the Facility, it has literally been radio silence. There has been nothing to indicate that there ever was such a place or any kind of experiments taking place. I have found absolutely nothing about it. I haven’t made any progress in discovering anything new and with everyone I put my trust into being…there was nothing I could do.”

Chan couldn’t imagine if he had been in Areum’s position. Knowing the secret he does now, if all those who he had been investigating with, Woojin, Hyunjin and Minho, had been killed and taken away from him, he would have fallen into a most violent despair. He probably wouldn’t have been able to continue looking into the Facility. Losing friends and family like that would have been enough to destroy him. The fact that Areum was still here, still fighting despite having lost so much, just proved to the wolf how incredibly strong this woman was. 

“But now, with Downwolders going missing, being found dead without any leads, such a similar pattern emerging, it’s not a coincidence, the same thing is happening again and I am going to get to the bottom of it this time, no matter what it takes. I’m not going to let this happen again. I have called in some favours from people who may want to help and I will use them to my advantage.” 

Neither Chan or Woojin knew what she meant by that but if they were supposed to, they were sure Areum would have told them since she had decided to tell them everything else. However, both of them knew what needed to be done when Woojin once again nodded towards the Werewolf to speak for both of them. 

“And we will help too. All of us will, when everyone knows. We won’t let you down, Areum,” Chan promised, feeling such warmth in his chest when Areum swept his shaggy hair out of his eyes with an affectionate smile, reminding him of his own mother who was so far away from him right now. 

“Thank you, boys. I knew I could trust you.” 

Trust. A word that held so much weight for everyone in the room right now. It had been a constant battle lately, deciding who it was that they could trust with such a tremendous and considerable secret. But with their honesty and faith in one another, the three occupants in the room knew that they had found new allies in their mission. They would help each other through this and Chan knew that it went both ways when he had said that they would not let Areum down. 

“Areum, you never said what it was that you discovered about the experiments. Do you know what they were using the Downworlders for?”

“Hmm, you aren’t aware of that?” the woman hummed, returning to Woojin’s bedside to try and comfort her son that had been too far away from her throughout the entire conversation.

They explained what was in the file they found, how most of it was in code that Minho was still trying to decipher and that it most definitely had not been the same one that Areum had found twelve years prior since it talked about the destruction of the Facility in it’s notes, obviously written after the fact. They saw in the photos what went on there but they never got to the reason behind it all. 

“The purpose of Facility 0325,” Areum gulped, anger and disgust whirling around in her voice and mixing together, “was to see if it was possible to transfer Downworlder abilities to Shadowhunters without killing the subject.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many of you turned against Areum after the last chapter? Our lovely, sweet, kickass Auntie Areum? How could you guys ever doubt her? She is NOT a bad guy (I can hear some of you sighing in relief) and while she's revealed her big secret, there is ever more to come from her. But you'll see what I mean later on! You can all relax. If they've got her on their side, they can't lose.  
Next week is a bit of our cute trio of shadowhunter/vampire/werewolf that I know you all want. And some Woosung ft. Minho. I'll see you then!


	51. Exoneration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Hope all of you are keeping safe.  
Before we start, I just wanna say thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has helped this story reach 30k views! I can't believe it's reached it already. You guys have no idea how much I appreciate you all reading the story and all the love and comments you give me. So, yes, thank you all. I love you guys so much! Ok, enough being sappy. Onwards!

The blanket of warmth wrapped around Seungmin was making him feel so serene right now. It was close to eleven in the morning. Or maybe twelve? He really wasn’t sure since he was only beginning to emerge from his sleepy state right about now. He had been on watch over Woojin from about one in the morning until six, taking over from Minho and Jisung. Well, more so just Minho because the Shadowhunter had his legs thrown over the armrest, head in Minho’s lap as the Warlock lovingly brushed his finger through his hair, sound asleep with no signs of waking up. And he hadn’t, not even when Minho hooked his arms under the younger’s legs and hoisted him up to take him to bed, just snuggling into his chest with little gurgles before passing out fully again. 

Of course, Seungmin wouldn’t be allowed to sit watch all on his own. That wasn’t for fear of someone trying to force their way in to see Woojin, namely Yunseok and that he wouldn’t be able to stop the man. Oh, no. It was because of his clingy Vampire boyfriend that had been on his left and his Werewolf best friend cuddling into his right who wouldn’t leave his side for anything. The three of them plopped down on the couch with Seungmin in the middle while they played some movie that the Shadowhunter had never heard of before. 

Now, on past occasions, Seungmin might have felt a little awkward as the Downworlders on both sides of him would usually be not so subtly be throwing passive aggressive remarks at one another, side eyeing with little huffs and scoffs, trying to hog all of Seungmin’s attention to themselves and rolling their eyes dramatically when the other tried such a tactic. Right now, Seungmin was sure that they couldn’t care less if he was there or not as they laid on his shoulders, babbling away to each other about how cool the action scene now playing was, giant robots taking on gargantuan monsters and winning the fight. 

After they had talked through their worries and misgivings about one another, it was like that night a week ago had never even happened. They slowly began to become more comfortable with one another, engaging in light conversation about this and that. Seungmin was so incredibly happy to see them warming up to one another, noticing that they were trying really hard, just for him. 

He wasn’t all that sure if they were acting the same way when he wasn’t around but he knew he didn’t need to worry about that when he returned from training with Changbin one day in the middle of the week. The elder Shadowhunter told him that he couldn’t skip out on training just because of what had happened. That this was, in fact, punishment for running into that alleyway after the demon and nearly getting himself killed. It was nearly unbearable the lengths that Changbin had pushed him to during the two hour session but he knew he deserved it. Changbin told him that he would pay for his idiocy and he could see that the elder was all about keeping his promises. 

Once Changbin thought he had punished him enough, he told him he could leave, smiling evilly as Felix came in to collect him since it was their turn to take over the watch, waving happily at Seungmin who was panting heavily and sprawled out on the ground. When he had gathered himself up and found his feet back on the floor again, he moved back to his room to shower where he knew Hyunjin would be waiting. Jeongin had gone to speak with Chan at that time but he didn’t know if the younger would be back yet. 

But as he approached his room, he could hear the telltale signs of crying, a gentle hushing sound following soon after and Seungmin couldn’t quite believe what his eyes showed him next. Hyunjin had his arms firmly wrapped around Jeongin’s shoulders, pulling him into a tender hug as the wolf sniffled and returned the embrace. The Vampire continued to try and calm Jeongin, seemingly doing a good job as he quietened down and began to speak. 

“I don’t know how to help him. He just seems so down and of course I understand why. He needs to know that Woojin will be ok but…he’s not the same person I’ve spent the last five months with right now. He seems so fragile. That’s not the Chan I know. I feel like such a useless pack member, such a useless friend. I’m such a disappointment, I can’t even help my alpha.” 

Seungmin’s heart hurt hearing something like that out of Jeongin, knowing that he was probably doing all he could to make sure Chan was doing ok throughout this tough time. Jeongin was enough, he was so much more than he could see. It wasn’t his fault that Chan had been so hurt but he was doing what he could to comfort him. Seungmin wanted to run in and tell Jeongin all of that but from the way Hyunjin pulled away from the younger and cupped his face, directing his somber gaze to his own, he knew his presence wasn’t needed.

“Innie, you are not a disappointment or useless. None of us are able to help Chan right now. He’s hurting because someone he cares about was nearly taken from him. Not to mention he found out why Wooj broke things off. He just needs time to sort his head out and when Wooj wakes up, you’ll see, Chan will go right back to being the same annoying, over the top, protective dad he’s always been. It will be ok, Innie. I promise. Come here.” 

When Jeongin’s lip began to wobble again at the Vampire’s words, Hyunjin held him close once again, neither of them looking like they were acting like mortal enemies just over a week ago. Of course, Seungmin knew he had been right when he told both of them that they just needed to get to know the other, despite how hard they tried to fight that logic. After sorting their differences out, they had done as Seungmin had asked and spent some time together and Seungmin was happy to say that whatever bad blood had been between them was nowhere to be found.

“Thank you, Hyunjin.”

“Anytime, pup.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“You can’t stop me.”

With Jeongin’s soft laughter, Seungmin finally decided to step into the room, surprised that Jeongin hadn’t picked up on his scent in all that time but he had probably been too caught up in his hurtful thoughts to notice but when they both noticed the redhead, the Vampire and Werewolf perked up considerably, throwing themselves into the Shadowhunter’s arms, screaming in unison.

“Minnie!” 

From then on, things had only gotten better, made blatantly obvious by the fact that Hyunjin was now placed in the middle of Seungmin’s double bed, one of the Vampire’s arms cradling the Shadowhunter close to his chest while humming into his hair since he obviously hadn’t needed to sleep while Seungmin had but on his other side, Jeongin was also currently snuggling into the Vampire’s chest, even though Seungmin had been sure that Jeongin had been asleep behind his own back when he had drifted off earlier. 

“Hey, angel. How long have you been awake? I didn’t even notice you opening your eyes,” Hyunjin whispered lowly, not wanting to wake the still sleeping wolf. 

“Few minutes. Was too comfortable to move.” 

Knowing that they’d probably have to get something to eat soon, Seungmin stretched his arms up to the top of the bed, flashing his tummy as his t-shirt rode up before he relaxed once more, noticing the Vampire’s eyes upon him.

“What?” 

“You’re beautiful,” Hyunjin breathed, snorting when Seungmin whined and buried into his chest.

“Shut up, you sap. How did Jeongin get over there?” the Shadowhunter inquired as he quickly tried to change the subject. “Wasn’t he snuggled into my back when I fell asleep?”

“You were both asleep for about an hour and then he started whimpering in his sleep. I woke him up and asked if he was ok. He didn’t even answer me, just crawled over here and pulled my arm around him. He passed out about ten seconds after that. I don’t even know if he was fully awake,” Hyunjin chuckled, kissing Seungmin’s forehead as the Shadowhunter let out the cutest yawn. 

As he did so, his fingers gently brushed off the bandage on the Shadowhunter’s neck, his face falling to something completely blank before reaching for the corner of the fabric.

“Can I take a look?” 

With confirmation in the form of a timid ‘yes’, Hyunjin carefully peeled back the bandage, glancing at two little red dots, almost completely healed now but would probably need another day or two before Seungmin’s skin was blemishless once again. Before reapplying it, Hyunjin bent down and placed a soft kiss upon the wound, just like he had done every day since it happened, to let Seungmin know that he was doing his best to adhere to his wishes to associate it with something better. 

“Well, isn’t this the most adorable scene ever?”

Seungmin slapped a hand over his neck to hide the bite marks that were now exposed for anyone to see since they were both sure that nobody else was in the room but when they looked towards the door to see Chan grinning slyly at them, both Seungmin and Hyunjin thought that they needed to pay more attention to their surroundings. When Hyunjin reached over to adjust the bandage on Seungmin’s neck so the wolf couldn’t see anything, Chan took that as his cue to walk in but was stopped by a sudden movement. 

The moment that Chan had spoken, Jeongin’s eyes droopily cracked open as he shot up on the bed, still half asleep and unable to detect where the elder’s voice was coming from in his sluggish state.

“Alpha?” Jeongin whimpered as he reached out to try and grab onto Chan and bring him closer.

In a flash, Chan was at the younger’s side, rubbing their noses together to let him know that he hadn’t just imagined Chan being there, something that calmed Jeongin when a little purr reverberated in his throat at the touch.

“Shh, pup, you’re alright. I’m here.”  
  


Jeongin immediately closed his eyes, crawling forward until he was seated in Chan’s lap, nuzzling into his neck and nodding off again. He seemed to be truly exhausted, his sleep having been interrupted by whatever nightmare had caused him to cry in his sleep earlier and the fact that Chan had been so distant lately had been stressing him out a lot. Now that he could comfortably sit with his alpha was doing wonders to help calm him down. 

“Think he’s been missing you a lot,” Hyunjin observed, wiggling his arm that had gone dead a while ago from Jeongin’s weight atop of it.

“Yeah, I haven’t been a very good alpha or friend to him lately. I’ll need to apologise when he’s more…conscious.”

It didn’t look like that would be anytime soon the way Jeongin was beginning to drool on Chan’s shirt, not that it looked like the alpha minded when he secured his arms around the younger’s lithe waist, making Chan grimace a little when he thought Jeongin had lost a little weight. Not worrying about that now, Chan just let his cheek rest upon the ruffled sandy hair of the pup as he sighed happily at the contact.

“Wait, how come you’re here?” Seungmin questioned, realising he hadn’t seen Chan outside of the medical suite since Woojin was brought in there. It suddenly hit him why that might be. “Is Wooj awake?”

“Yeah,” smiled Chan, placing a firm hand on Hyunjin’s chest to stop both of the young men from moving before they needed to. “Wait! Before you all rush anywhere, you’ll have to wait in line. Sungie has just gone to see him with Min. You guys can go afterwards, ok?”

“What do you want to do to pass the time until then?” Hyunjin purred, tilting Seungmin’s chin upwards and leaving a delicate peck up his lips before trailing them down his cheeks onto his neck.

Nobody knows how much further it would have gotten since Chan cleared his throat quite loudly, scowling at the two young men who looked embarrassed at the fact that they had almost forgotten about the two wolves’ presence.

“Uh, do I need to take Jeongin somewhere else?” 

* * *

After he had awoken and realised that his biggest secret had been revealed to everyone, Woojin had been worried about Chan’s reaction, he had been worried about Changbin’s reaction, he had been worried about Areum’s reaction. But the reaction he was most worried about because of the unknown nature of the outburst, was Jisung’s. 

Danger. He felt such a dark aura surrounding him the moment the younger stepped into the room with the Warlock right behind him, Minho smiling so brightly when he caught Woojin’s eye but it was only for a moment since Woojin’s gaze was immediately drawn back to Jisung, the pull to strong to resist. 

He remembered seeing the pure and utter relief in Chan’s eyes when he saw him first, the tears that fell from Changbin’s, the loving smile from Areum that made him feel so at ease. But Jisung? It was just a blank expression that told Woojin absolutely nothing about how he was feeling. 

Just as he was about to open his mouth and tell both young men to come in, he was stopped by a single finger raised up in the air, courtesy of Jisung. 

“You are not going to say anything. I am going to speak first and get everything off of my chest. You’re going to listen to what I have to say, ok?”

Just nodding dumbly, Woojin snapped his mouth shut again, waiting for the incoming storm he thought was coming by the blank look on the youngest’s face. Physically, he was feeling better and better by the second, so much so that he managed to push himself up into a sitting position, with a little pained grunt, one which Minho noticed and attempted to rush forwards to help the Shadowhunter but Woojin stopped him with a tiny wave of his hand, knowing that Jisung would probably get annoyed if his now boyfriend ignored the fact that he wanted to have all of Woojin’s attention for now. 

“I’ve been trying to think of exactly what I wanted to say to you since Bin told me you were awake,” Jisung began, not moving from his spot by the door for now, with Woojin noticing how Minho was staying close to his side. “And I’m still not quite sure what I want to say.” 

Despite the genuinely serious tone that Jisung was trying to set, Woojin could see Minho trying to hold back a smile while shaking his head, obviously amused by his boyfriend’s lack of preparedness in a situation like this. They had spent the last week together and in all that time, he thought that, surely, Jisung would have figured out everything he wanted to get off of his chest once he spoke with Woojin. Apparently, that was not the case.

“Ever since you broke things off with Chan, you’ve been lying to me. You’ve been hiding things from me. You’ve been pretending that all this shit hasn’t been happening to you.”

Woojin figured that there would be a couple more scoldings coming his way after how he had decided to end the whole situation with Chan. It hadn’t been the most elegant way he could have handled the whole thing but in the moment, it was the best way to keep everyone safe. From the look on Jisung’s face, Woojin readied himself for the possibility of shouting and profanities coming his way but when the youngest’s face suddenly morphed into one that looked like it held a thousand regrets, Woojin wasn’t entirely sure what it was he should be preparing himself for. 

“And I noticed,” Jisung stated, his voice wobbling tremendously under the weight of his words. “Of course I noticed. How could I not when I knew you wouldn’t end things with Chan out of the blue like that without some sort of terrible reason? I noticed because your personality completely changed after that. You always acted like things were ok but there were times when you thought nobody was looking, when you’d seem so sad. There were even nights when I would pass your room and hear you crying. I knew something was wrong. I noticed. And I still did nothing.” 

The air around all of them shifted when Woojin realised that this wasn’t just a berating but also an admission of guilt for standing idly by while he knew that Woojin was suffering. 

“I should have tried harder to make sure that you were doing ok, especially the times when I knew you weren’t. I should have done…_ something _to try and get to the bottom of why your relationship ended so that I could have helped you through it. I should have acted more responsibly ever since then too. I’ve probably caused you so much stress over these past few months with all of my immaturity. I should have been a better brother to you, Wooj and I’m sorry I failed to be that.”

Both Woojin and Minho seemed to be gobsmacked at Jisung’s reasoning, especially the final part, the apology that Woojin wanted to say wasn’t needed in any way from the younger. None of that was his fault and Woojin had spent the last seven months doing his best to hide it from Jisung; there was no way he could have known about it. 

“So, if it’s ok with you, how about we just cancel out how we wronged each other? You kept things from me and I didn’t do enough to help you through it. What do you think about that?” 

Not knowing if he was allowed to speak yet, Woojin just nodded hesitantly, easing Jisung’s fears for now before he could tell him how he really felt later on. 

“Ok, ok. That’s really what I wanted to say,” Jisung muttered before he finally started moving towards Woojin, hopping onto the bed and swinging his legs up. 

Woojin didn’t even need to hear Jisung say what he wanted. Moving his left arm outwards, being careful of all the lines still connected to him, Woojin smirked when Jisung laid his head upon his chest, reaching to pull his brother’s arm around him, snuggling in with a sigh as he closed his eyes, silence surrounding all of them. 

“It’s so strong…”

“What is, Sungie?” Minho asked as he finally spoke for the first time, moving closer to the bed.

“His heartbeat,” Jisung whispered, making both Woojin and Minho halt since they knew why he had mentioned such a detail. “The last time I held onto him, I could barely feel it.”

“Oh, Sung…” Minho breathed, reaching over to push his fingers through the younger’s hair to try and drag him back from the memories of that night. 

They knew what Jisung meant, how it was that Woojin had been at death’s door the last time Jisung had held him close, when Chan had raced them back to the Institute, the night when he didn’t know if he would lose one of his brothers. 

“Bin told me you were the one who saved my life.”

“Huh?” Jisung mumbled, raising his head to stare confusedly at Woojin. As far as he could remember, he wasn’t the one to perform surgery on Woojin and patch up all of his wounds but that night was really fuzzy. For all he knew, he could have.

“He said that you were the one who administered first aid on the scene, right?” Woojin cooed when he saw Jisung tiredly rub his eyes as he nodded, the back of his hands being smeared by the tiny tears that had gathered. “He said I could have been much worse off if you hadn’t done that. Could have lost my leg. He also said that you were the one who helped Chan get me here, that you held onto me all the way back to the Institute and kept pressure on the wound on my stomach. I would have bled out if you hadn’t done that, Sung. You were the one who saved me.” 

It was the boost that Jisung needed, to hear that he _ had _actually helped Woojin in some way throughout all of this. In hindsight, Jisung had been ashamed that he had frozen on that night, needing Changbin to slap some sense into him to make sure that Woojin made it through. He should have been able to see what he needed to do on his own but he still needed guidance. To know that Woojin was aware of what he had tried to do to help allowed him some comfort through all of this. 

“Don’t ever think you are a failure, as a human, a Shadowhunter or as my brother. Do you understand me? You have always been there for me when I’ve needed you, Sungie. You have never caused me stress. You’re a pain in my ass sometimes but that’s what little brothers are, isn’t it?”  
  


Lightening the mood, that’s what Woojin was trying to do and Jisung understood that, smacking the elder on his chest and apologising profusely when Woojin became winded and clutched at his chest, snorting when Jisung became overly panicked, only to see that his brother was only messing with him. 

“You don’t ever need to apologise for this, Sung. I love you so much, kiddo and thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” 

That brought the thankful pout back onto Jisung’s face, the younger ceasing poking Woojin’s tummy for his earlier joke and falling back into Woojin’s arms, feeling the elder hug him with such a careful strength, in a way that only a big brother could. 

“Not that it’s of the same calibre, I’m aware that it’s not but according to the whispers going around the Institute, apparently, it hasn’t just been me that’s been keeping secrets.”

Any serenity that had been in the room suddenly exploded, dissipating into the air as Jisung’s eyes blew wide, still cuddled up against Woojin’s side as his stare carefully moved to Minho, the Warlock grinning insanely since there was no way that either of them could misinterpret what it was that Woojin was trying to get at.

“Bin told you, huh?” Minho observed, knowing that it had to be the raven haired young man that spilled the beans.

“Oh, yeah, he was quite detailed about it when I asked him.”

While Minho seemed to be taking this as a joke, Jisung in no way saw the hilarity in any of this, which more than likely stemmed from how Changbin had reacted to the news. He didn’t think Woojin would be as dramatic about it but Jisung still felt the need to explain himself since he had given Woojin such a talking to about lying to him about his relationship the past few months.

“Wooj, I-”

“Ah, now it’s my turn to speak while you stay quiet,” Woojin sang, booping the top of Jisung’s nose while the young man was still laying beside him. “Are you happy, Sung?”

Something that Changbin had asked him as well. If he was happy. Of course that was all his brothers would be interested in, if the relationship made him happy. Neither of them had really known the hardships he had gone through to get to where he was with Minho but Changbin must have told him enough about the pain he used to feel through the _ Parabatai _bond for Woojin to ask such a question. 

But, of course, Jisung was happy now that he had worked things out with Minho. So incredibly happy, so all he could do was nod his head vigorously at the question before Woojin turned towards the Warlock.

“And you, Min?”

“More than I’ve ever been before in my life,” Minho declared with certainty, causing Jisung’s ears to flush red. 

“Do you both really love one another?” 

Again, a thumbs up from Minho and a small ‘yes’ whispered from Jisung confirmed what it was that Woojin was already sure of. 

“And you’re both committed to this?” 

It was a question asked to both of them, like the previous ones had been but Minho knew that it was entirely directed at him. He had been friends with Woojin for a very long time and in that time, the Shadowhunter hadn’t been blind to the amount of people that Minho would constantly be seen with, especially when he knew that the Warlock wasn’t dating any of them. Woojin was also the one that Minho would speak to about his constant hookups and therefore, he would also hear about how and why the Warlock would decide to end things. Nobody ever lived up to Minho’s standards, wanting something more just as much as he did and in the end, they never made the cut. But Jisung had and while Woojin had faith that Minho was serious about the young man he had chosen to be his, he wanted to hear Minho say it from his own mouth, that there would be nobody else while he was with the younger Shadowhunter. 

“Completely and utterly, Wooj. Jisung is my one and only now. There’s nobody else for me. I’m crazy about him.” 

It mightn’t have been audible to Minho but Woojin definitely didn’t miss the little whispered giggle under Jisung’s breath, looking down to see the young man in his arms curling in on himself against his chest, the most beautiful, gigantic smile from the Warlock’s proclamation scrunching up his nose with joy. 

“Alright then.”

“Alright?” Jisung repeated curiously, like he couldn’t believe it was that simple.

“Yeah. I mean, you’re both consenting adults, both smart enough to make your own decisions and I trust you enough to make sure that the other is safe and content while you are in a relationship with one another.”

“That’s it?” the mousy haired Shadowhunter gawked, looking at Minho like this was the most extraordinary thing that could have ever happened. “_ Man _, you were a hell of a lot easier to convince about this than Bin.”

“Did he throw a bitch fit?” 

“That is putting it mildly,” scoffed Jisung.

“Yeah, well, he’s always been fiercely protective of you, Sungie.”

“And you’re not?” Minho challenged, watching the way Woojin hugged Jisung closer to his chest at the question.

“Oh, I am but I don’t need to warn you, Minho. You already know that I’ll kill you without mercy if you ever hurt him, right?” 

Throwing his hands up in exasperation, Minho scoffed at the two in the bed who giggled like school children at the annoyance in the Warlock’s face. 

“This has been the second time my life has been threatened because of you, Sung. I don’t know if this relationship is going to work out.”

Jisung shot up out of Woojin’s arms, crossing his legs and arms, pouting cutely as he somehow managed to conjure tears to his eyes at Minho’s complaint. It was obviously an act, something to evoke some sense of sympathy within the Warlock for ever saying that Jisung wasn’t worth this kind of hassle and because of that, Minho couldn’t help but feel apologetic, wanting Jisung to smile that smile that made his heart melt from the mere sight of it. 

“Sorry, baby. I shouldn’t joke about that. You know I’d never let you go. I wouldn’t be able to find someone as perfect as you ever again,” Minho gushed, placing a quick kiss to the Shadowhunter’s nose, watching that bashful grin replace the sour glower that had been there moments ago. 

“Is this how it’s going to be between you from now on?” 

Woojin hated how in sync they were when both rolled their eyes at him but that didn’t surprise him all that much. They had always been like that, for as long as Woojin could remember. Jisung had always been incredibly fond of Minho, saying that, even though they were exceedingly different, they complimented each other so well. Sometimes, Woojin thought they were mirror images of each other, especially in times such as this when they had the exact same look of judgement on their face. 

“This is the way it’s been for the last week, Wooj. This isn’t new, just because you decided to sleep through it all,” Minho ribbed, jabbing Woojin in the arm, only doing so because he knew the young man wouldn’t be able to chase him to get back at him. 

“You’re a genuine comedian, a top class act, Min,” Woojin snarkily shot back, pulling Jisung back down to cuddle him since he had gone for far too long without. 

While they talked about nothing in particular, Minho began to notice that Jisung was beginning to slowly drift off, being pulled away to the land of nod by the two soft voices he felt safe being encompassed by. Woojin only noted Jisung’s absence when Minho had stopped talking to merely stare at the sleeping young man, letting Woojin know he had nothing to worry about when it came to the Warlock’s feelings. The look of pure adoration in his eyes was proof enough that his word was true. 

“Min,” Woojin whispered, diverting the Warlock’s attention back to him. “We’re going to tell them all about Jihoon and what happened ten years ago.” 

It was bound to happen sooner or later, telling the others about everything that they had discovered. It wasn’t going to be easy, especially revealing it to certain people, certain people like Seungmin and the young man breathing so serenely on Woojin’s chest. Things weren’t going to go down well when it came to the point of revealing that it had been their own that had murdered their parents, which was more than justified but it didn’t make it any easier. 

“Ok, when do you want to do it?”

“A couple of days at most. I should be able to at least make it to the meeting room then, though I think that Areum won’t let me out of the chair to get there, just in case.”

Even if Woojin would be well enough to get around the Institute, Minho had the feeling that there would rarely be a moment when he would be left out of everyone’s sight. After what had happened, Woojin’s security detail had increased tenfold, clearly so when they had to take shifts outside of his room to make sure that nobody could enter but Areum. Just because he had woken up didn’t mean that anything would change.

“Speaking of which,” Woojin continued, biting on his lip as if trying to contain a secret. “She knows.”

“What?” Minho questioned, not catching on even when Woojin carefully placed a hand over Jisung’s ear to make sure he would not be able to hear the following conversation, even in his slumber.

“Areum, she knows about everything.”

“You told her?!” Minho nearly yelled, smacking his hand over his mouth when Jisung whined a little, stirring slightly in Woojin’s arms before settling back down again.

“No, she knew already,” Woojin soothed, brushing his fingers through Jisung’s messy locks. “But you don’t need to worry. She told me her story, how she came to find out and I understand and I know you will too. I trust her in this, Min. You don’t have to worry, Areum wants to get to the bottom of this as much as we do. She’s on our side.”

“Ok, I’ll trust you on that. You can explain everything when we’re all together.” 

They talked for a while more about the subject, wondering how to combat this gargantuan task but getting the feeling it was futile for now, they digressed, switching to more lighthearted topics until Jisung woke up. Trying to move him now would be like attempting to wake a rabid wolverine. 

“So, how did this start?” Woojin asked as he gestured to Jisung before going back to Minho. 

“It’s a hell of a long story.”

“I’ve got plenty of time. I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.” 

* * *

The few days that they had been waiting to pass did so quickly. Areum had once again given Woojin a thorough examination, conceding that he was indeed well enough to at least be able to get out of bed but with a stern warning that he was never to be on his own or allowed to stand. He could be taken around the Institute by someone of his choosing, though everyone knew that he wouldn’t choose anyone but Chan. 

Everyone else had got their one on one time with Woojin over the past couple of days, most of them yelling at him for being so careless but all of them expressing their thanks that he was still with them. Most of them didn’t get the proper explanation but that was because they were promised that everything would be explained eventually. 

And under the pretense of saying it was due to the attack on the city and Woojin himself, ten people found themselves within the meeting room at the center of the Institute. It was the usual array of those that could be found at the weekly meetings that had been suspended for the time being but Areum was also here this time, which didn’t faze anyone unaware of the real reason that they were all here since they trusted her unconditionally. Both Minho and Hyunjin were curious, since Woojin had told them of her knowledge of the Christmas Eve incident but not how she did but if Woojin and Chan trusted her explanation, they both knew they had nothing to fear. 

To everyone outside the room, Areum had given strict orders that they were not to be disturbed for anything less than a state of emergency. The door was locked, Minho had placed a silence spell on those sitting beside him, confusing most of them since they were sure they would be relaying this information to everyone eventually. Little did they know that the contents of their conversation was classified as top secret. They had also chosen this specific time because Yunseok had mentioned that he was going to be on a call with the Clave, apparently discussing the recent events that had occurred. ‘Better to be safe than sorry’, Chan had said. 

Once everyone was seated around the table, Chan’s being slightly closer to Woojin’s than the others that were spaced out, Areum gathered their attention with a soft cough. 

“I know that some of you here are wondering why we needed to have this meeting so hastily since Woojin hasn’t fully recovered yet. And, yes, one of the reasons is to discuss the attack on the city that happened nearly two weeks ago. But there is something else that we would like to discuss with all of you.” 

While Woojin, Chan, Minho and Hyunjin’s heads fell low, the others in the room tried to look around the room to see if they could gauge what kind of problem they were walking into. But nothing could prepare them for what they were about to experience. 

“We think we’ve discovered something very disturbing about the Christmas Eve incident ten years ago, something that revolves around you, Seungmin.” 

All eyes flew to the redheaded Shadowhunter who cowered slightly beneath the stares, having the greatest feeling that whatever he was about to hear was not going to be, in any way, pleasant. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week is the continuation of the meeting, when all secrets will be revealed to those still in the dark and you can see their reactions. Be prepared! See you then!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you've enjoyed. 
> 
> In case anyone wants to scream at me or with me about anything:  
Tumblr: @stray-anpanman  
Twitter: @stray_anpanman


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